Always and Forever
by FirePearl97
Summary: 3 years after the rebellion Katniss and Peeta married and Madge and Gale are having their 3-year anniversary. A sort of sequel to my other fanfic "Stay With Me" but more modern day. Join the two couples as they embark on a luxury cruise across the Caribbean. Will it be just a normal, lazy honey moon or will something big happen and turn it into an adventure? Rated T just incase,
1. The Adventure Begins-Chapter 1

_**Title: Always and Forever**_

_**Summary: **__**3 years after the rebellion Katniss and Peeta get married and Gale and Madge have their 3-year wedding anniversary. A sort of sequel to my other story, "Stay With Me", but more modern day. Join the two couples as they go on a cruise across the Caribbean. Will it be just a normal lazy honeymoon cruise? Or will something big happen and turn it into an adventure? **_

**Hey all! This is not my first fanfic so I'm hoping it'll be better than my other ones**** For those of you who read Stay With Me I hope you like this one almost as much**** I've never written a more modern day ff so I guess we'll see how it turns out.**

**As always I love getting reviews from you all. **

**5 reviews= 1500-2000 words; 10 reviews= 2000-2500words; 15 reviews= 3000w**

**You know how it goes**

**Hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Everyone knows that I am not Suzanne Collins and I most certainly do not own the Hunger Games, the rest comes from my own imagination.**

Chapter 1: Katniss's POV (probably will be most of the time)

"Katniss! Would you hurry up! We're going to miss our plane"

"Yes dear!" I call down from our bathroom. "I'll be finished in just a few seconds." I hear my husband huff in annoyance and chuckle to myself. I became Mrs. Mellark last week and I couldn't be happier with him. For our honeymoon we are taking a cruise across the Caribbean along with our friends Madge and Gale who were married right after the rebellion and takeover of the capitol exactly three years ago, so they are coming along for their 3-year anniversary.

I've never been on a boat let alone seen one before, I'm so excited and a little bit nervous about being on the water, but from what Peeta has told me it's so big you forget that you're even on the water! Madge is more nervous than I am but she was always like that. She is a little over one year older than me making her 21 and Gale 22, pretty young I know.

"Katniss!" Peeta calls again. "Coming!" I grab the last of our toiletries and rush out the door, sprinting down the stairs I crash into Peeta at the bottom. He gives me a quick kiss and I smile into it. "Ready?" He asks excitedly. "You bet!" The cruise will last two weeks so we have a large suitcase each plus backpacks and carry-ons. We hurry out to our garage and Peeta opens the trunk of our car and throws all of our luggage into it. "Are we picking up Madge and Gale?" I ask him once we're settled in the two front seats of our silver BMW. He nods and starts the car and backs out, pressing the automatic garage door closer at the same time.

Madge and Gale Hawthorne live a few houses down from us and are waiting at the end of their short driveway with even more baggage than Peeta and me, and I really thought that we had a lot!

"Hey Guys!" Madge squeals like a little girl as Gale opens the door for her then puts their luggage in the back with ours. It's a good thing we have a large compartment back there, I'm surprised that the wheels aren't sagging yet!

Soon the two of them are snuggled in the back and we begin our 30 minute drive to our Districts small airport. We're flying to District 4 because its faster than the train, then the boat heads out tomorrow morning from there and we begin our cruise!

I don't really know what the Caribbean is, only that it's kind of like a big body of water, I guess we'll see. We'll be stopping at different ports along the way and get to visit countries that no one even knew existed during President Snow rule.

During the past three years our current President, Alma Coin has really proved herself and everybody loves her as our president. She's done so much good and things have changed so dramatically.

Our plane leaves at noon and we have to be there an hour early; right now it is 10:30am, perfect, I though that we actually were going to be late the way Peeta was yelling. Finnick and Annie are coming to see us off before our plane takes off and Johanna who is currently living in District 4 will say good-bye from there.

We said bye to our own families last night so that they could sleep in this morning without having to get up early. Everyone has been pretty tired after all the preparations for our wedding and everything, then the wedding itself was amazing even if it was tiring. Gale and Madge's stylists from their games came for their wedding and insisted on coming to me and Peeta's as well. Cinna, who was Madge's main stylist made my wedding dress and I have to say that never in my life have I seen anything so beautiful.

It wasn't quite white, more of a light cream color that was long and barely brushed the floor. It was strapless with tiny sequins around the top, it was tight around the middle then at my waist in went out like a princess dress. The material was so light and comfortable and beautiful at the same time. I had to learn how to walk with heals, it took quite a few tries before I got it, but I think I'm a pro now!

"And here we are!" Peeta announces as we pull up into the airport parking lot. All four doors open then close as we all go to the back to retrieve our things. Gale strides over to a uniformed man at the entrance and brings back a big cart looking thing that will fit all of the big suitcases and carry-ons so that we only have to carry the backpacks.

I take Peeta's free hand and Madge does the same to Gale, the four of us walk confidently into the building, listening to the sound of airplanes overhead. We check our suitcases and they get put onto a moving belt thing that'll bring them onto the airplane. With our tickets in hand we go over to a group of seats and wait for out flight number to be called, we have about 45 minutes.

We've barely sat down before Finnick and Annie come running in and give us each a hug. "You are so going to love it!" Annie shrieks happily. "I hope so." I reply.

Finnick and Annie are a few years older than us and have been married for approximately 5 years I think.

"Madge, Katniss, come over here for a minute." Annie calls the two of us over.

"Hey what's up?" I ask. In answer she pulls out two stunning necklaces, each with a different shell on it. "I wanted to give you each a little something to take with you. I brought them from District 4 when we used to live there."

Madge hugs her then I do too. "Thank you so much Annie, it's gorgeous."

"Your welcome." She smiles and we walk back over to the guys.

"Look what Annie gave to me Peeta." I hold up the necklace to show him.

"It's beautiful Katniss." I hand it to him and turn around holding up my hair so that he can put it on me. I've started to wear my hair down instead of in a braid all the time, Peeta likes it that way better, and it's nice for a change. Once the clasp is done up I let my hair back down to show Annie.

"It looks great on you Kat." She says grinning.

"Sorry guys but we've got to head out." Finnick says. "Hope you all have a wonderful trip, enjoy yourselves as much as possible." He smirks his Finnick smirk and shakes Peeta and Gales' hands then gives Madge and I a quick hug, then they walk out the door; and just at that same minute out flight number is called over the speakers.

We hurry to grab up our backpacks and purses and taking Peeta's hand we rush to our gate. Surprisingly we get there first, and after handing the attendant our tickets we are let in and walk to our seats. It is a very small plane, I guess there aren't very many people flying to District 4 today.

Peeta and I stop at the seats 1+2B, Madge and Gale are a little further back from us. The flight will be about 3 hours, way faster than a train as you can see. We settle down into our seats and prepare for takeoff.

A few minutes later we start to move and pretty soon we're going so fast I can hardly believe it, a few seconds later we begin to lift up into the air. I clutch Peeta's hand tightly as we rise, getting higher and higher into the sky.

**Three hours later…**

The landing was even scarier than the takeoff but Peeta held me and thankfully I didn't toss my breakfast. After getting off the plane we hurry through customs and get our luggage put onto another one of those carts and wheel it out. We hail a taxi and get him to take us to the hotel that we'll be staying at for tonight. It's a pretty nice hotel with a window that looks over the beach. We deposit our thing in our rooms then Peeta and I decide to go for a little walk along the beach after a quick bite to eat at the hotel's restaurant.

Neither of us have eaten fish before but that is pretty much all they eat here so we had to at least try it. I have to admit that it was quite delicious, Peeta didn't like it so much. When our bellies are full we walk hand-in-hand out onto the beach, taking off our shoes we run through the sand letting our toes sink into it.

"That's my favorite color." Peeta whispers as we sit together on the dock marveling at the amazing sunset.

"I know." I whisper back. "I've never forgotten the first time you told me.

"And that's your favorite color." He points to a dark green colored palm tree. I nod and lean on his shoulder, his arms automatically go around me.

We sit there and watch the sun reflect off of the water until it is pitch black outside.

"We should probably head back." He says when I feel myself drifting off. I nod and start to stand up, he takes both of my hands and helps me up all of the way. We skip happily back through the sand, shoes in hand, then we slip them back on once we arrive at the front door of our hotel.

We go to bed early that night, wanting to be rested for the next day and the excitement it'll hold.

**Next Day…**

"Good Morning sleeping beauty." I slowly open my eyes to find Peeta right above me with his hands on either side of my head holding him up.

"Morning." I say groggily, "Is it time to get up already?"

"Yep! Boat leaves in two hours." I sit up and rub my eyes. "Is there a breakfast restaurant downstairs where we can eat at before we go?" I ask. Peeta nods.

"Good, now will you please get off of me so I can take a quick shower before we go?" I ask, trying to squirm out from under him. He smiles wickedly and I'm starting to think that he's not going to let me go but he does and hops off the bed. We take a quick shower then get changed. I put on a pair of jean shorts and a sea green tank top along with my new necklace from Annie. We meet Madge and Gale outside in the hallway and walk down to breakfast together.

"How did you sleep?" I ask Madge on our way down. "The bed was so comfy!" She gushes. "Oh good, ours was pretty nice too." Our breakfast consists of bacon and eggs with a glass of orange juice. We all eat quickly so that we can get all of our luggage down to the ship in time. We finish with an hour to spare and hurry up to our rooms to repack whatever we got out last night. Once we're ready we have to make two trips to get all of our stuff just to the front door of the hotel.

Because the hotel is right on the beach we don't have to walk far and get the bellman to help carry some of our things. When the cruise ship comes into sight I think that it's maybe an island at first. I thought it would be huge but it's bigger than huge.

"This is going to be awesome!" I say to Peeta." He chuckles. Somehow we get out luggage to the ship and it is hoisted up to be put into our cabins.

Suddenly a loud commotion is heard from behind us and we all turn around to see what it is. A large jeep is flying through the sand not even watching that there are people running everywhere trying desperately to get away. A big box is attached to the back and its contents are rattling like crazy. I know who it is and apparently so does everyone else because we all say the name at the same time, "Johanna."

She parks abruptly right beside us and hops out. "Oh it thought I wouldn't make it!" She pants.

"Nice to see you too Jo." I say. "Hey brainless." We all chuckle at her nickname for me.

"Well I just wanted to wish you love birds a nice cruise, okay bye!" And with that she jumps back into her jeep and as quickly as she got here she's gone again, bouncing down the beach with sand flying all around. We all laugh but get interrupted by a loud horn being blown.

"That's our cue." Peeta says, and we hurry to walk up the gang plank. And just like that, our adventure begins.


	2. Strange Men-Chapter 2

**Ah I'm so glad you all enjoyed the first chapter! I got 13 reviews! So because I have my other story as well I'll probably be updating around twice a week, maybe three times**** I'm not sure how many chapters this story will be, but it most definitely will not be a short story!**

**I want to thank these people for reviewing the first chapter:**

**FearlesswithHimeJC; iloverueforever; Liv; stopdroplove; XliekeX; Katniss72500; hatgal012; canadianboy98; TragedyIsTheKey; Shayrosemc; HGFan4719; Acaycia; kaitykatwarblerlover. Thanks guys!**

**So just to let you all know, the Johanna driving the jeep thing was canadianboy98's idea and I thought it fit**** Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not under any circumstances own the Hunger Games.**

**Chapter 2! **

"It's beautiful isn't it?" I nod and rest my head on Peeta's shoulder. "I've never seen anything like it." We been on the huge cruise ship for just a few hours and now that the land is out of sight all we can see is water all around, and it is truly unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. The two of us stand side my side next to the railing that keeps us from falling into the water, looking out at the sparkling deep blue water and pointing out the occasional fish.

"I'm so glad we came." I whisper. "Me too." Peeta replies, I can hear the smile in his voice.

"I heard that there is a big pool on the deck above us, that's where Madge and Gale went, want to try it out?" He asks a few minutes later.

"Sure, lets go." I lift my head up and take Peeta's hand, practically dragging him back to our room on the second floor, room 204; Madge and Gale are right across from us. Our suitcases are sitting in the middle of the floor probably from when the attendant left them there. We hadn't even seen our room yet, too busy out watching the water I guess.

"It's nice." Peeta voices my own current thoughts. "Yeah, it is." It is a large room with a kind bed on one wall and a TV on the other; one large window at the end that looks over the water really completes it. We even have our own private bathroom with a large bath included.

"I don't think I'll ever want to leave." I say flopping onto our huge bed. Peeta chuckles when I say this and picks up one of our suitcases and sets it on the bed. He locates our swimsuits and zips it back up, setting it back onto the floor.

"Here." He tosses me my light blue and green tankini. "Let's get out there before the sun leaves the deck. I nod and proceed to undress and put on my swimsuit. Peeta asked me to where something a little more covering than a bikini considering he doesn't want anyone else looking at me. I kind of like how he is so protective of me and doesn't even like other men to look or talk to me; so I bought another swimsuit that is equally as cute.

Ten minutes later we're heading out the door in our suits and beach bag filled with lotion, towels, sunglasses and whatever you'd need at the pool. We find Madge and Gale lying on beach chairs beside each other, Madge reading a book and Gale asleep.

"Hey guys!" Madge greets us. We say hello and grab two empty chairs next to them. Peeta sets the bag in between our chairs and we settle down.

"Want some sunscreen?" Peeta asks. I nod and he squirts some on his hand and rubs the cream all over my back, shoulders, arms and legs, the dabs a bit on my nose and ears.

"There you go." He says smiling. "Now you look very shiny." I laugh and squeeze some cream onto my own hands and rub it all over my husband's broad back and shoulders. I wipe my greasy fingers off on the edge of his towel when I'm finished and lie back onto my chair, sighing in contentment.

"This is the life." Peeta says, clasping his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. I reach down into the beach bag between us and pull out a book that I've wanted to read. A few minutes of reading Peeta's quiet snores begin beside me. I lean over and kiss his forehead and get back to reading.

…

I slowly open my eyes finding that I had fallen asleep while reading. I'm wondering what woke me up when I feel a poke in my side, then another. Finally I turn my head and come face to face with a grinning Peeta.

"It's about time you woke up!" He says giving me a quick kiss. "I didn't mean to fall asleep." I tell him defensively.

"I know, but it felt good didn't it?" I nod and pick up my book to resume reading. About 10 words into the paragraph the poking begins again.

"Peeta would you quit it!" I hiss playfully, keeping my eyes on the page. He doesn't answer but keeps poking my side.

"What?!" He grins and leans over to me. "Wanna come swimming with me?" He whispers seductively.

"I want to read." I say.

"Oh come on, that's boring! The sun's not going to be here forever!"

"Maybe tomorrow."

"I say let's go swimming right now. You need to cool off some."

"Peeta I'm fine." He stops poking me after that and I'm beginning to think that he decided to go by himself and join Madge and Gale in the water when my book is suddenly swiped out of my hands and placed into my bag.

"Hey!" I yell. But before I can say anything else I am lifted off my feet by some big and strong person who begins carrying me like a sack of potatoes towards the water that looks oh so cold.

"Peeta don't you dare!" I tell him, starting to get scared.

"Doesn't it look inviting." He whispers.

"NO!" I scream but he jumps in anyway with me still in his clutches. As we sink into the water I have to say that it is quite pleasant, definitely not as cold as I had expected.

"Hey you're awake!" Gale grins and swims over.

"Yeah, Katniss has been begging me to come swimming with her for a while so I finally relented." This earns in a punch in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"  
"For lying!" I say, and before he can grab me again I swim quickly over to Madge.

"Hey Katniss! Isn't the water wonderful?" Madge squeals like a kid goes under water then pops up next to me.

"Yeah, it's great." I say half-heartedly.

"Come on! Enjoy it while you can! We only have two weeks." She grins then swims gracefully over to Gale and jumps onto his back, startling him. We all laugh when he lets out a yelp of surprise.

I end up having a lot more fun than I had expected and an hour later when the sun is beginning to set we're exhausted and have to drag ourselves to our rooms.

"Does anyone know when dinner is served around here?" I ask once we've arrive in our hallway.

"Didn't you read that paper on the desk in your room?" Madge asks. "It has all the information on it. Dinner is at 6."

"Thanks Madge." I take a look at my watch. "Well we only have any hour, better start getting ready." Gale nods and we head to our separate rooms. "Meet you back here at ten to." He says. We say good-bye and unlock our door.

"If I wasn't so hungry I'd go to bed right now!" I say, lying on the bed and closing my eyes.

"You just took a nap!" Peeta says, lying beside me.

"Yeah, but swimming is very tiring." I counter.

"You're right Kat, but I'm starving too and I can't wait to check out the menu!" "I think it's a buffet." I tell him. "Okay, whatever."

We reluctantly get up and quickly unpack our things, placing them in the huge chest of drawers in our room. I hang up the few dresses that Madge made me bring, she said that dinner would be formal and that there were dances and things in the evenings; well hopefully I didn't pack them for nothing.

When we're finished with that we take a quick shower to rinse off the pool water and get back to smelling clean; I don't wash my hair because it'll take too long to dry and we need to get ready to go.

"Peeta, I can't decide." I whine. "A dress or just some skinny jeans and nice top." He looks at the two outfits that I am holding up for him to see.

"I'd say that you should wear the dress for the first night just to be safe, then if it's more informal you can wear the jeans tomorrow, and that dress isn't the least fanciest one that you brought."

"Okay, if you say so." I put the jeans and shirt back into my drawer and slip into the dress. It is knee length and my favorite color: forest green; it flows out from the waist and is snug around the middle. The neckline is square and it has two one inch wide straps, I complete the outfit with a pair of sliver flats and the pearl earring and necklace set that Peeta gave me for our wedding.

"You look amazing Kat." He says looking me over. "Thanks, oh shoot I still have to fix my hair and we only have 10 minutes before we have to leave!" I begin to panic.

"Don't worry." Peeta assures me, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Just brush it and it'll look perfect."

"Okay." I give him a smile and grab my brush off of the night table. When my hair is soft and shiny I slide in a matching green headband and put on a tad of lip-gloss.

"Ready?" Peeta asks. I nod and take his hand. ""Let's go I'm starved." He chuckles and opens our door, then locks it behind us, slipping the key into the pocket of his dress pants.

A few seconds later Madge and Gale exit their room and the four of us walk happily to the dining room below us.

The captain of the ship greets us as we enter the large fancy dining room and one of the waitresses shows us to our table.

"I thought you said that it was going to be a buffet?" Peeta whispers to me on our way to our table.

"Well the brochure said that the buffet is for breakfast, I think."

"Um, okay. Well I'd say that this is definitely a formal dinner, you can wear one of your other dresses tomorrow." He grins and I inwardly grown. I was hoping that this would be a relaxing cruise and I wouldn't have to worry about dressing up, so much for that.

We soon come to our table for four and the waitress promises to return once we are prepared to order.

"Wow, this could take a while." Madge says while opening her menu. "Half of these dishes I haven't even heard of!" Gale chuckles beside her, "How about we try something different for a change."

"Sounds good." Says Peeta, searching threw his menu. I open my menu as well and find a lot of fish dishes so I decide to go with a _grilled salmon with honey sauce._ I've heard Annie and Finnick say that salmon is really good so I may as well try it. About ten minutes later the young waitress arrives to take our orders.

"What are you getting?" I ask Gale once the waitress has left. "I pick catfish, sounds interesting."

"Catfish?" I ask. "Sounds disgusting if you ask me."

"Well I didn't ask you." Gale retorts and goes back to staring of into the crowd of people.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask Madge who is sitting beside me. "I think he's just a little tired." She whispers back. "Oh."

"He's been staring in the same direction for the past 5 minutes." I say a few minutes later; our food has yet to make an appearance. Madge and Peeta glance over to the area where Gale has been looking.

"Notice anything?" I ask. They both shake their heads, I'm surprised that Gale hasn't even heard us talking here.

"Wait." Peeta whispers. "What?" Madge and I ask, straining our eyes harder.

"Do you see those two men at that table in the back?" We search the tables until we find the right one then nod.

"They are staring at something on their table. I'm going to casually stroll by and try to see what it is."

"Peeta are you crazy?" I mutter under my breath. "No I'm not, I'll be right back." Before I can stop him he stands up and begins walking in their direction.

"Where's Peeta headed to?" I turn around to see that Gale is eyeing us both curiously.

"He went to spy on those two men over there." Madge informs him.

"I think they're up to something." He says. "I've been staring at them for the past few minutes and I say that we stay away from them."

"Why do you say that Gale?" Madge asks.

"Because they are studying the layout of this ship." I look up to find that Peeta has returned.

"They're what?" Gale whispers loudly.

"Studying the layout of the ship, they have some parchment that has every room and every control labeled on it, I think they're up to something."

"That's what Gale said." I tell him.

"It might just be your imagination." Madge says, trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe." Is all Peeta says, and thankfully that's when the waitress shows up with our food.

Surprisingly my salmon is delicious and Gale lets me try his catfish, which doesn't taste too bad either; Peeta ordered a steak and Madge just got soup. We're too tired to stay and order dessert so as soon as we're finished we head back to our rooms. After saying good night to Madge and Gale we lock the door to our room and change into our pajamas.

"So how did you enjoy the first day?" Peeta asks once we're snuggled down into the blankets.

"It was wonderful." I say, my eyes getting quite droopy. "Peeta do you think that we have anything to be worried about?"

"What do you mean Kat?" He asks, pulling me closer to him and I rest my head on his chest.

"Oh I don't know, those two guys studying the ship."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing, I'll protect you." "I know." I sigh and close my eyes.

"Get some rest." He murmurs into my hair.

"Night Peeta, I love you."

"Love you too Kat." He kisses my head then sinks down into one of the fluffy pillows on our bed. I fall asleep almost immediately with thoughts of our first day, and I'd have to say that it was pretty awesome.

**Yay the second chapter is finished! So what do you think about those two men? Maybe it's something maybe not**** guess we'll see! Hope you liked it! I have a lot planned for this story. I want to personally thank these cool people that reviewed the first chapter:**

***Kaitykatwarblerlover- Thank you! I guess we'll see**

***Acaycia (guest)- aw thanks! I'm so glad, well tell me what you thought of chapter 2!**

***HGFan4719- Glad you liked it! I most definitely will, hope you like what I have planned! Thanks for your review!**

***Shayrosemc- not sure how many chapters there will be in all but probably a lot, maybe close to the first book. I'm guessing that I'll be updating about twice a week, hope that's okay! But I have another story I'm working on too**** Thanks for reviewing!**

***TragedyIsTheKey- Yay! I know I can't believe it! Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing!**

***canadianboy98- yeah. Thanks for the idea**** hope you liked this chapter!**

***hatgal012- aw thank you so much! **

***Katniss72500- thanks! Yeah it kind of seems what she would drive**** why thank you, hope you continue to enjoy it!**

***XliekeX- yes it does! Thanks, I will**

***stopdroplove- yes I really can't believe it! Thanks for reviewing twin!**

***Liv (Guest): thanks! So glad you do**

***iloverueforvere- thank you!**

***FearlessWithHimJC- special thanks to you being the very first reviewer for this story! Hope you like it, thanks for all the great reviews**

**That's all for now!**

**Adios Amigos! **** Hasta Luego**** (I think) I just started taking Spanish so feel free to give me any tips**

**~FirePearl**


	3. MISSING-Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been a few days but I did warn you! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews last chapter, most of your answers should be answered in this chapter**** We finally received some snow over here and I and my family put up our tree today! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games, never will.**

Chapter #3…

A loud banging awakes me from my slumber the next morning. "Peeta, you going to get that?" I groan and feel with my hand the spot beside me, it's cold. My eyes fly open and I sit up, searching all over our room.

"Peeta? Where are you?" Suddenly the bathroom door opens up and he steps out, a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair all wet and messy.

"What's wrong Kat?" He asks, coming over to me and gathering me into his arms.

"I'm fine now, I just woke up and you were gone." "I'm sorry, I couldn't go back to sleep and didn't want to wake you so I just took a shower." We pull apart when the knocking on our door continues.

"I'll get it." I say and grab my housecoat and pull it on. After unlocking the many locks that are on the door and swing it open and just stand there.

"Gale? What are you doing here?" My jaw drops when I see his face. Pale, dark circles under his eyes, I've only seen this once before and it was a very long time ago, he's scared!

"Have you seen Madge?" He tries to ask casually, but I can tell he's kind of freaked out.

"Uh no I haven't, just woke up. Why Gale? What happened?" I invite him into the room where Peeta is now dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed and motion for him to sit down.

He takes a deep breath, "She told me earlier this morning that she needed a little bit of fresh air and would only be gone for a few minutes. I asked her if she wanted me to go with her but she said that she just wanted a little time alone; and that was over an hour ago!"

I sit down beside him and gently pat him on the back. "I'm sure she's fine Gale, just lost track of time. How about we go check on her?" I suggest.

"That's just it though Catnip, I've already been to where she told me she would be and she's not there! I'm really worried about her."

"I know, we'll find her just let me get changed real quick and we go." I grab a pair of black skinny jeans and a light blue tank and change in the bathroom; five minutes later we're ready to go.

"Thanks so much for coming with me." Gale says sincerely. "I don't know what I would do if I lost her." I just give him a small smile and take Peeta's hand, and the three of us begin our search for the missing Madge Hawthorne.

"So where exactly did she tell you she was going?" I ask, trying to get some information that'll help us to find her.

"Uh I think she mentioned the top deck." "Good enough." I say and hurry up all the flights of steps to the top deck. It is surprisingly quiet for 9am, not a soul in sight. A few minutes later the three of us are standing at the very top of the boat, which is pretty high from the water and waves below.

"Do you see her?" Gale asks, frantically looking all around for that golden head. Peeta and I shake our heads.

"Don't worry man." Peeta pats him on the back. "We'll find her eventually, she has to be on this boat."

"Thanks Peet, that really helps." Gale replies somewhat sarcastically. After a few more minutes of examining the deck for the missing Madge I decide to send Gale back to his room to check and see if she had come back yet, and Peeta and I will continue searching on the different decks.

"Do you think that we should ask someone, maybe a maid or somebody if they have seen Madge this morning?" Peeta asks me once Gale has left and it is just the two of us.

"That's not a bad idea."

"What about that woman over there sweeping the deck?" I look over in the direction he is subtly pointing. Sure enough a small lady in a crisp white uniform and hat has a broom in her hands and is sweeping furiously. I just nod as my answer and the two of us walk over to her.

Peeta then clears his throat loudly and she looks up and us, a little startled.

"May I help you?" she asks politely. I let Peeta handle the talking.

"Yes ma'am, I was just wondering if you had noticed a young woman about 21 years old with long golden, blond hair out on the top deck earlier this morning." She seems to ponder his question for a moment, like she is trying to remember something.

"Do you know her?" She finally asks. I nod and speak up, "Yes she is the wife of my friend, the four of us came together."

"Oh, I didn't think she was married." She mutters under her breath. I glance at Peeta and see that he heard it too.

"So you saw her?" He says excitedly. She nods slowly, "Yes she was conversing with two people, both dressed in black, then she walked away with them, that way." She points to a staircase going down deeper into the ship.

"And about how long ago was that?" The maid looks at her watch then replies, "About half an hour ago."

"Thank you so much." Peeta flashes her a smile and she blushes but quickly looks down and gets back to sweeping.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I whisper to Peeta when we're alone again.

"That those people she talked to then left with are those two men dressed in black from last night?" I nod.

"I don't have a very good feeling about this." Peeta gives my hand a squeeze. "I'm sure she's fine Kat, we'll find her." It does little to comfort me but I trust him with my life so I just let it go.

"We'd better head back to the room and let Gale know before going down those stairs." He suggests. I agree and together we make our way back to our rooms.

Gale is just exiting his room when we walk up, his face falls as soon as he sees that his wife is absent. "Did you find out anything?"

"Yeah, she was seen talking to two men in black then walked away with them and wen down some stairs." I tell him.

His jaw drops and he looks shocked. "Like the men in black we were watching yesterday?" I nod.

"But I don't know why they would take Madge, I wonder if it has something to do with them and that map, although I don't know what."

"Well what are we standing around here for, let's find my wife before something bad happens to her!"

"We'll find her Gale." I assure him. "I just hope that maid wasn't lying to us." And with that the three of us head back to the stairs where we could very well find Madge.

"I wonder how they got her to go with them so easily without making a scene." I murmur to myself.

"Probably threatened her with Gale or something." Peeta says. We soon arrive at our destination and begin descending the long set of steps.

"I think this is where people with less money have their rooms." Gale whispers as we walk quietly down a long, dark and musty hallway. He is probably correct; doors line both walls although no sounds come from any of live indicating any signs of life.

Most of the doors that we try to open are locked, no surprise there. I'm starting to get quite hungry a while later when we still haven't located Madge. Soon we come to a fork in the hallway, "We should split up." Peeta mentions.

"Okay, you take Catnip, I'll go alone." Gale says and immediately starts walking down the right hallway so we take the left. This one is even darker than the one before, the only light emitting from the tiny slit under each door. We've only been walking for less than five minutes when we come to another fork.

"Okay, I'll take this one, you take that one." I tell him.

"Kat, I don't want you going alone."

"Don't worry about me Peeta, I'll be fine." And before he can protest I rush into the right hallway. This one is a little brighter so I can actually see in front of me. The doors on either side of me soon become farther and farther apart until they stop altogether. I am just about to turn around because there is clearly nothing down here when I feel hands clamp down onto my mouth and a blindfold being put over my eyes. I get in a few good kicks and punches before my captor ties my hands tightly behind my back and forces me to walk. I obey because it's the only thing I can do, but keep hoping that Peeta or Gale will come and rescue me in the next few seconds.

I can't believe how stupid I was telling Peeta that I could go alone, now I will probably be in the same dilemma as Madge. On the good side I might get to see her, but that won't help Peeta or Gale much.

I hear a door being opened and someone pushes me in roughly. They then sit me down on a chair and untie my hands only to retie them behind me again but this time attached to the chair. As soon as my kidnappers hand releases my mouth I let out an ear piercing scream only to have a gag quickly tied around my mouth making me choke.

Thankfully they take my blindfold off so that I can see where I am being held and who my captor or captors are. I am in a small square room with a small bed in one corner and a TV and desk on the other side, I am tied to a chair right in the middle.

I try speaking but only nonsense comes out and I can't even understand myself. Then I just glare at them, letting them now that I am not scared. There are two people dressed identically alike in all black wearing masks, one is tall and muscular and a little bit of blond hair sticks out from under the mask, the person beside him is a lot smaller and could possibly be a girl. The big guy speaks first, "Nice of you to join our little party." His voice is practically dripping with venom. The smaller person just laughs a high-pitched laugh. Definitely a girl, I think to myself.

"I think your little friend was getting lonely." I quickly turn my head to find Madge in the same state that I am, we're back to back. I glare at him again, but he just laughs evilly.

"You are probably wondering why you are here." I nod. "Well I wanted to make sure that you were out of the way for the plans that my sister and I have in the next few days. I know that you like to investigate, don't think that I didn't notice you four staring at us last evening." I just roll my eyes, trying to act nonchalant.

"You see," he continues, "My sister and I have been studying this ship so that we can sink it at the right time." My eyes go wide and what he just said. "That's right, we're going to sink this ship, just taking a little revenge." At this I get a confused look on my face and he just laughs again.

"Oh yes, I said revenge, for everything you and your little friends put me and my sister through." I am beginning to understand what he is saying, and I think I know who our captors are now, I wonder if Madge knows. Then he and his sister pull off their masks revealing the two people that I had thought I'd seen that last of three years ago.

Cato and Colette.

**OOOH Cliffhanger! Don't you just love those? Lol. Sorry it's kinda short but I really wanted to post a chapter today. So were you surprised? More will be revealed next chapter**** Please excuse any mistakes. I will now thank all of those who reviewed the last chapter…**

_**Kaitykatwarblerlover: yeah, well you were right! Thanks! Glad you did, hope you enjoyed this update!**_

_**HGFan4719: Did you expect that? Thank you so much for reviewing, I am so glad everyone is enjoying the sequel!**_

_**Hatgal012: you'll find out more next chapter! Yeah, I might put that in as a flashback or something**____** we'll see. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**XliekeX: Thanks! Well they weren't captains, they really were bad guys**____** Hope you enjoyed it!**_

_**Acaycia: Aw thanks! So glad you liked it!**_

_**ClatoIsReal: why thank you, glad you think so**___

_**TragedyIsTheKey: Yeah I know! Can't believe it! 24 in 2 chapters! Aw you're so sweet**____** Thanks again!**_

_**Liv: Thanks for reviewing every chapter, means a lot!**_

_**Canadianboy98: Thanks bro!**_

_**FearlesswithHimJC: Well thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Jessy0622: I love reading your reviews! They make me laugh every time**____** Yeah well know you know who they are! Surprised? Thanks for the reviews! I love getting them! BTW you were the first to review this chapter! Here's a cookie: (::) Enjoy!**_

_**Wow 11 reviews for the 2**__**nd**__** chapter, that's pretty awesome guys;) If we get up to 15 reviews it'll be an extra long chapter next time!**_

_**Thanks again so much, it means a lot that people are enjoying this already.**_

_**Au Revoir!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	4. Rescue Me-Chapter 4

_**Hey guys! Thanks so much for the encouraging reviews for the last chapter, I can't believe we're up to 34 reviews in only 3 chapters! That is definitely a record for me! So I wanted to get this chapter posted today because I will be gone over the weekend and won't be able to post another until probably Tuesday, same for my other story, for those of you who are reading it as well.**_

_**Well thanks again, hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games ,or it's characters, but I am pretty sure that I own this plot **___

**Chapter 4!**

I try to yell and scream all the profanities that I know to those two but the gag is still over my mouth preventing me from emitting any sound but maybe a pathetic croak. Since my hands are tied behind me and so are Madge's I move mine a little until I feel her ropes and then her hands. I give them a little comforting squeeze to tell her that we'll get out of this okay, Peeta and Gale will find us, I hope.

"We have big plans for you two." Cato sneers. "Oh yes we do." His sister laughs maliciously beside him. I just roll my eyes.

"Colette, how about you cut their gags lose, I'd like to hear what they have to say." Cato smiles wickedly. "Besides, no matter how much you scream for your sweet little hubbies, this room is quite sound proof, no one can hear you, no one knows you are here, so you may as well give up all hope of a rescue." He finishes proudly. Colette in turn takes a small dagger that hangs on her belt and starts walking over to us. I'm not scared of her, if it came down to the two of us I'm sure I'm stronger, but when you're tied up and your enemy is coming towards you with a dagger you can't help but feel just a little intimidated. I hear Madge whimper slightly and give her hands another encouraging squeeze.

My gag is removed first and I have a coughing fit and try to get my breathing back to normal. Once Madge's is off her as well I only hear her breathing heavily, but otherwise she stays quiet.

"What do want with us?" I spit at him. He grins again. "Oh not much, I mostly just want you two out of the way while we do our business, then we shall retrieve you when you are needed."

"But why would you sink a ship filled with a bunch of innocent people!" Madge asks, close to tears.

"Oh but they are not even close to innocent." Cato replies. "If you haven't already noticed over half of the occupants of this ship are from the rebellion that ended the games and in the end killed President Snow. You four were just the most important in the rebellion, but there were many others.

"But why would you do such a thing? Madge cries again.

"It's all because of you that Colette and I spent over three years in prison, serving snobby President Coin, and now, after many years of planning for just the right time we are ready to put our plan into action."

"Well I'm sorry you were put into prison." Madge says quietly. "But you did kind of deserve it after all you two did."

I gasp and retort, "I'm not sorry at all that you were in prison and forced to serve like the rest of us were for the past 75 years! I'm glad, and I'd do it all over again if I had to, you got what you deserved!" I'm barely finished speaking when I see Cato give his sister the slightest nod, and the just like that my gag is back on and I can't talk anymore.

"There, I think that's enough talk for you." He says. I just glare at him showing that I'm not afraid of anything, which in reality I'm actually quite scared, scared that my husband might not rescue us, scared that we might all die before I was even married two weeks, afraid for all the innocent people that could die for no reason if we don't find some way to stop them.

"Well we have business to take care of, enjoy the quiet." They both laugh again and soon we are left alone.

"Are you okay Katniss?" Madge asks me.

"I nod even though we are back to back and she can't see me, and give her hands a squeeze.

"Do you think if we both work on each other's hands we can get them lose?" Madge asks again. I nod again and we both start working on hour hands. My wrists are tied together so with my free fingers I find the knot imprisoning Madge's hands and get to work. The knot is done pretty well but just from feeling it I already know what kind it is and exactly how to untie it; in a matter of minutes Madge's hands are free. She flexes her fingers and rolls and rubs her sore wrists, trying to get the circulation back the quickly unties my own hands. I rub them as well and quickly untie my gag. We embrace the other and enjoy what little freedom we have for the moment.

"How did they get you too?" Madge asks me. I shrug, "Well me and Peeta and Gale were told by a maid where she saw you go and then we separated and Peeta and I went down one hallway and Gale took the other. Soon we came to another fork and I took one and Peeta took the other. That was a big mistake, I told Peeta that I could take care of myself and that I would be fine and only a few minutes later they caught me. I'm sure they are both pulling their hair out right about now." I explain.

"Yeah knowing Gale he won't stop to even sit down before I'm found. Even after being married for three years he's still overly protective, afraid that I'll be taken away from him." I chuckle and say,

"You know, a few years ago I never would have picture Gale feeling that way about a girl, let alone the mayor's daughter!"

"You and me both!" We laugh together, momentarily forgetting the situation we are in and just chatting like normal friends. "I sure hope they find us." Madge whispers a little while later.

"Don't worry Madge, like you said, Gale won't rest before he finds you and neither will Peeta. I wouldn't be surprised if they came to our rescue in the next few hours." That seems to comfort Madge a little and we just sit in comfortable silence for the next little bit.

After a while I start to get sore from sitting down and stand up just to move around a little bit.

"Should we try the door?" Madge asks. "It's going to be locked." I say but she tries anyways. Her face falls when the door doesn't budge. "Wait!" She says excitedly. "I still have my cell phone with me, maybe we can get ahold of Gale!"

"Okay then, try it!" She nods and dials Gale's number, after a few rings she hangs up.

"He isn't answering but I'll leave him a message." She punches a few words telling him that we are okay and who are kidnappers are and presses send just as her phone turns black.

"Shoot! It died on me! Let's just hope that the message sent before the phone died." We don't have anything to do after that and just walk around stretching our legs and waiting for the door to open.

**Peeta's POV **

I slump down onto a beach chair where Gale and I promised to meet up after an hour. Gale still hasn't arrived and it's been over an hour, I'm hoping that he either found them or he his just running a little late and hasn't run into trouble. Just when I am about to leave to go looking for him he stumbles up the stairs and falls into a chair.

"Nothing?" I ask. He shakes his head, breathing heavily.

"I never should have let her out of my sight!" Gale chides himself.

"Don't worry about it man, it wasn't your fault." I put my hand on his shoulder and try to comfort him.

"Hey do you have your phone with you?" I ask suddenly. Gale immediately pats his pockets only to come up empty.

"Shoot, I left it in the room, why?"

"Well Madge has her phone, she might have tried to contact you." He smacks his head, "Why didn't I think of that?" He then jumps up and I hurry to follow him back to his room.

Five minutes later after Gale finished fumbling with the lock on his door we get inside and he finds his phone sitting on the night table next to the bed.

"Any new messages?" I ask impatiently.

"Yes! From Madge!"

"Well read it already would ya!" I peek over his shoulder and try to get a glimpse of what the message says.

"Hold you horses Peet! Okay it says: _Together with Katniss, okay, in soundproof room, down. Captors try and sink ship, Cato, Colette."_

"That's all it says?" I ask. He nods sadly. "But know we know who their kidnappers are."

"Cato and Colette!" I state. "The brother and sister that worked for president Snow and kidnapped Prim and Katniss." Gale nods. "We have to find them before Cato does something drastic."

"Like sink this entire cruise ship?"

"Yes!" He then tries calling Madge back but of course doesn't get an answer because her phone is dead.

I try and lighten the mood a bit, "Okay, so we know that they are fine for now." Gale nods in agreement. "And they are probably alone if they were able to send that message."

"We know that they are in a soundproof room below us." Gale says.

"Good, what else do we know that'll help us find them?"

"Well she is with Katniss so and least they are in one room together."

"Okay, I guess now we start looking."

**Katniss's POV**

"They've been gone for two hours now; don't you think that Gale and Peeta should have found us by now?" I voice my worries to my friend currently slumped in a corner with her head in her hands. She just shakes her head and lets out a moan.

"Come on Madge." I chastise her. "Don't give up all hope now, Gale probably received your message and they are on their way right now." She lifts her head a little, revealing a tear-stained face and red, puffy eyes. I cross the room from where I had been pacing, trying to come up with an escape plan, and sit down next to Madge, put a comforting arm around her shoulders, whispering soothing words in her ear.

"We're still on the boat so there are only so many places they can hide us, someone will have to find us eventually." I tell her. She lifts her head up again and says, panic in her voice, "But what if Cato and his sister actually sink the boat before anyone finds us!"

"Well you told Gale in the text what they were up to so if he got it then it'll be up to the guys to save this entire ship." I say.

"Yeah, I guess so." We sit in silence after that, each with our own thoughts and worries, soon enough we've both fallen asleep cuddled together on the hard floor waiting for help.

A loud bang and crack awakes me from my slumber and I quickly shake Madge awake as well.

"What's that?" She whispers like a scared little girl. We hug each other while the banging continues and soon the door is broken down. We sit there waiting to see who it is that has come to our rescue. Madge sees them first and jumps up and runs into her awaiting husbands arms, crying and laughing all at the same time. With searching eyes I look for my own husband. I locate his perfect blue eyes just as he is climbing over the broken wood from the door. He smiles and I run to him. Peeta picks me up and swings me around, planting wet kisses all over my face.

"I am never letting you out of my sight again." He says in between kisses.

"I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you." I cry into his chest. He hugs me tighter, whispering to me that it's okay.

"Uh guys, sorry to break the moment but we'd better get out of here before the bad guys get back and throw us all overboard." Gale says, and we reluctantly break apart, clasping hands in the process.

"Should we tell the captain about all of this?" I ask. "He's probably want to know that there are crazy people on his ship that are planning on sinking it in the next few days."

"Well about that." Peeta begins and I eye him curiously. "Gale and I are pretty sure that the captain is in on the whole plan. That's the only way Cato and Colette could have gotten away with this so easily."

"Great. What about life boats, are there enough to hold everyone?" I ask.

"That's another reason we think the captain is in on it." Gale answers. "We found where they keep all the life boats on our search for you and there are only two down there, enough for the culprits and maybe a few of the really important people."

"Oh, they want to leave everyone who was in on the rebellion on the ship to drown." I tell them. Madge whimpers slightly and Gale tightens his grip around her.

"We'll be fine, I promise. Somehow we're going to find a way out of this."

I can only hope that he is right.

_**Yay! Peeta and Gale to the rescue! Do you think that they'll be able to stop Cato and Colette from sinking the ship? Will they get safely away?**_

_**Well all I can tell you is that this is only the beginning of their troubles and adventures. **_

_**Here are the people that reviewed for the last chapter…**_

_**Tjtreader: Yeah sorry about that **____** maybe later on I'll interchange, but it's easiest for me to keep it to Katniss's, although I did add a short part of Peeta's in this one! Thanks, glad you like it **___

_**HGFan4719: Yeah I know right!? Thanks! Well they rescued them, for now…hehe **____** Glad you liked it, thanks for all the awesome reviews!**_

_**Acaycia: Crazy huh? Why thank you **____** That means a lot!**_

_**TragedyIsTheKey: Wow! Good guess! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Katniss72500: HAha, me neither, which sounds strange because its my story, but even I surprise myself! Lol. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Liv: So glad you liked it! Thank you so much for your constant reviews!**_

_**FearlesswithHimJC: ooh fun! Yeah its been snowing here for the past two days and we have over 2 ft in some places! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**XliekeX: yeah me neither, lol. Meanies! Haha sorry for the cliffhanger, at least it's not too bad in this chapter **____**Thanks!**_

_**KatkaRussianGal: Haha great job! Aw thanks!**_

_**Jessy0622: Ooh I just love long reviews! Thanks. Glad you enjoyed you cookie! Haha. I know! Well hopefully they leave for good during this story**____** I'll have to add the butt whooping next when Gale and Peeta come in contact with the bad guys, that should be fun to write! Thanks so much for reviewing!**_

_**Thanks again guys! **_

_**~FirePearl**_


	5. Surprise Guests-Chapter 5

_**Hey, I'm back with another chapter for all of you lovely readers out there **____** sorry it took so long, I've been really busy and I just posted a chapter for my other story yesterday**____** Besides Christmas is only 5 days away and I have been last minute Christmas shopping! I can't believe how close Christmas is, it went by sooooo fast!**_

_**Anyways I'll probably have more time over the holidays to update but we'll see, here is your chapter, and thanks to all of those who reviewed last chapter, we got 15! Enjoy the extra long chapter! **___

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games but I'm pretty sure I own this plot.**_

_**Chapter 5!**_

"Are you hungry?" Peeta asks me on our way back to our room.

"Starved." I whisper back. He chuckles quietly and instead of heading to our own room we go straight to the dining room for a late lunch. Madge and Gale had decided to go back to their room and eat later; probably catching up on some much needed kissing or something.

We walk happily hand-in-hand to the dining room thankful that for now we are safe, as long as we stay together nothing should happen. I mean who would seriously want to fight Peeta? Well I guess he doesn't look very intimidating when you just talk to him, but he can be quite the fighter especially if it has something to do with his wife of less than two weeks.

The dining room is almost deserted so Peeta and I just find a table for two and then walk over to the buffet.

I am so hungry I just grab some of everything: rolls, eggs, bacon, juice, yoghurt and cereal and even a cheese bun. I doubt it'll be as good as Peeta's cheese buns but it's a cheese bun all the same. Peeta piles his plate equally as high, if you saw us you'd think we hadn't eaten in days, and together we head back to our table.

"Okay I want you to tell me everything." He says once we've been seated across from each other.

"Can we please eat now, talk later?" I ask, already biting into the semi-warm cheese bun and taking a gulp of orange juice.

"Sure." Peeta replies and takes a bite of eggs and bacon. We eat the rest of our meal in silence then as soon as my plate is cleared Peeta pounces and I have to tell him everything that happened, what was said every little detail. It took a while but he is finally satisfied and we just sit back and enjoy the quiet.

"So what do you want to do today Kat?" I shrug lazily and lean back in my chair.

"I don't know, something relaxing, maybe sit by the pool while there is still sunlight on the top deck?"

"Sounds like a plan." Peeta smiles. "And then I heard that this evening there is going to be like a little cocktail party or something, it'll give you a chance to wear one of your pretty dresses."

"Yeah I don't know Peeta."

"Oh come on it'll be fun!" He gives me his sad puppy dog eyes and I instantly melt.

"Okay fine, we'll go." He grins triumphantly and helps me up out of my chair. Intertwining our hands we stroll leisurely back to our cabin to change into our swimsuits.

"I sure hope we don't come across Cato or his sister, I'd kind of like to enjoy this cruise without them." Peeta says.

"But what if they really do try and sink the ship! What if the captain is actually in on this evil plan."

"Don't worry Kat, we'll get through this." He kisses my cheek and we continue on our way to our room. After I take a quick shower and change out of my now dirty clothes I slip into my swimsuit and throw a cover-up over top. Our beach bag still has our towels, sunglasses, sun lotion…etc. So we just pick it up and leave.

While Peeta locks the door I cross the hallway to the Hawthorne's cabin and knock twice. A few moments later Madge opens the door looking quite bedraggled.

"Hey Madge, Peeta and I are heading up to the pool, you guys want to join us?" I ask smiling. She shakes her head. "No thanks, I'm tired and I think Gale just wants to hang out in our room for a bit. We'll meet you for dinner though."

"Okay, that's fine." I assure her. "Have fun." She smiles back and closes the door. I smirk at Peeta and he and I make our way to the pool. Only a few other couples are out lounging on beach chairs, the rest are enjoying the coolness of the water. We find two chairs beside each other closer to the railing of the boat than the pool and settle down; each of us grab our sunglasses and a book and after spreading our towels out on the chair lay down and begin our lazy afternoon.

Peeta isn't much of a reader but I can tell that he his trying to just read a book for me because I recently became a lover of books, especially adventures.

I get so engrossed in my story that I don't hear the waitress asking if I'd like anything, so Peeta just orders me an iced drink.

"How's your book?" he asks after about an hour of silence.

"Oh it's amazing, you should read it sometime."

"Hm." Is all he says and I can hear him slurping his drink from the straw. Without taking my eyes of the page I reach my arm over to the small plastic table in between us and locate my drink. I moan in satisfaction after taking a sip of the cool drink and set it back down again and continue reading.

My eyes soon get drowsy from reading for over an hour and I soon drift off to sleep, my hand in Peeta's.

"Katniss! Wake up!" I jerk my head up and then sit up all the way, looking around me.

"Where am I?" I ask, beginning to panic.

"Kat, you're fine, you just fell asleep out here and it's getting late, I thought you might be hungry."

"Oh, okay." I say, my heart rate starting to lower back down to normal. "Sure let's get out of here." The sun is already setting and only the occasional person is still outside. We quickly put all of our belongings back into the beach bag and Peeta slips his t-shirt on and I put my cover-up back over my bathing suit. We then make our way back to our cabin to get ready for dinner. I keep trying to persuade Peeta to staying in our room this evening but he insists that we try out this party and promised that if I don't like it that we can leave. I still don't want to but if it'll make him happy I'll doing anything.

Once we get back to our room we both take a shower to wash off all of the sun tan lotion then we get dressed for dinner. I find a summery skirt instead of a dress and a somewhat formal top to match. I slip into a pair of small heels that Peeta insisted I bring along. My skirt is a dark green with small white flowers and Peeta wears dark jeans and a green dress shirt to match me. I finish the outfit with the necklace Annie gave me.

"I don't understand why we have to get dressed up just to go eat!" I complain to him while brushing out the tangles of my wet hair then blow-drying it.

"This is a very fancy ship Kat. It's just the kind of thing you do to show respect."

"Yeah whatever." I grumble and go back to fixing my hair. In the middle of brushing I get the brush stuck on a tangle and no matter how hard I yank it I just end up hurting myself more. Then I feel a presence behind me, and Peeta's hot breath on my bare neck.

"Need some help?" I nod and hand him the brush. With just a few gentle strokes the tangles are out and my hair is smooth and silky.

"Thanks." I say smiling up at him. In answer he leans down to my level and places his lips on my own. I smile into the kiss and bring my arms up to lock around his neck. We probably would have stood there in each other's arms and missed supper if a loud knock didn't break us apart.

Peeta shuffles to the door while I finish drying my hair. It happens to be Madge and Gale just as I had suspected and Peeta invites them in.

"How was your guy's day?" I ask without turning around.

"It was nice." Madge says.

"That's good." I reply.

"What did you two do?" Gale asks.

"We went for a late lunch at the buffet then rested by the pool on the top deck for a few hours then came back here to shower, change and get ready for dinner." Peeta informs them.

"By the way Peeta is making me go to this cocktail party tonight, you two want to join us?" I ask Madge with hopeful eyes.

Madge looks at Gale and he just shrugs his shoulders, "Sure, I'd like to come." She smiles. "I have a few dresses that I've been dying to wear but haven't had an occasion like this yet to wear them to!"

"Good!" I say glad that I'll actually know at least two other people at this party.

"Well are you ready to eat?" Gale asks, rubbing his stomach. "Because I'm starved." I nod and quickly tie my now dry hair back into a low ponytail. I then take Peeta's hand and Madge laces her fingers through Gale's and together the four of us begin walking merrily to dinner.

The captain greets us once again but this time I don't just see him as the captain of our cruise, I see him also as a potential enemy, and if you look passed all his nice formalities and kind greetings there is definitely something going on with him. I look around the large dining hall but don't see the other two kidnappers; they'll probably try and stay away from us from now on. I wonder if we should start telling people about what they plan to do, to warn them; I mean I don't want to ruin everyone's vacation by worrying them but I'd feel really bad if something happened and we were the only ones who knew.

We are taken to our table and each given a menu. I settle with a soup and some bread and Peeta tries some kind of fish again. The dining room is filling up fast and there are only so many waiters to serve us so we end up having to wait a while before receiving our meal; which for Madge and I is fine, we aren't starving anyways but the guys are another story and every few minutes we can hear Gale or Peeta's stomach growling. Our waitress eventually makes it with our bowls and plate lining both of her arms and then sets them in front of us. We all thank her and dig into the delicious food.

We are so concentrated on eating that neither of us notices a tall bronze haired young man and a small woman standing next to him. When I finally look up I gasp and choke on my soup.

"It's about time one of you took your eyes off your food." At his voice everyone looks up and Peeta chokes on his fish and it takes quite a few pats on the back before he can breathe normally. Finally Madge speaks for all of us.

"Finn, Annie, what in the world are you two doing here?"

Finnick chuckles and Annie smiles next to him, "Well we had been wanting a vacation in a long time and decided to go on this cruise but we didn't want to bother you on your honeymoon so we just kept to ourselves."

"But, how? You didn't get on the plane with us!" I say, still very confused.

"We took the early morning flight to District 4." Annie replies quietly.

"I still can't believe that you are here!" Peeta sputters, "This is great, have a seat." He and Gale stand up and grab to empty chairs from another table and slide them up to our table for our guests.

"So, anything exciting happened for you yet?" Finnick asks casually. The four of us look at each other and finally Gale speaks up. "Oh Finnick you have no idea."

"Really? What happened, tell us all about it!" Annie pleads clasping her hands together and placing them under chin like a little child listening to an exciting story.

I end up getting chosen to relate the story and after I'm finished Madge tells her side of the story and how she got kidnapped and everything. Finnick and Annie listening intently only interrupting to ask the occasional question for clarification. When our story is told Annie looks frightened and is holding tightly onto Finnick's forearm.

"Do you think they'll really try and sink this ship?" She asks.

"We're hoping that it is all a hoax or a joke to scare us but I seriously wouldn't put it past them." I reply.

"We should tell the captain and maybe he can throw them overboard!" She squeals.

"Uh there is a part we left out of the story." Peeta says quietly. He now has Finnick and Annie's full attention.

"We're pretty sure that the captain is in on whatever plan Cato and Colette have."

They both cover their mouths in surprise. "But we shouldn't talk about it here." Madge whispers across the table and they both nod in agreement.

"So where are you two staying?" Peeta asks a little louder than before.

"Well surprise surprise our cabin is in the same hallway as you guys, just at the end."

"Ha imagine that!" Gale laughs. We call our waitress back over and Finnick and Annie order their food. It arrives a lot quicker than ours did and about half an hour later they are finished eating.

"Are you guys ready to go back, the party is starts at 9pm so we have an hour to get ready." Peeta tells us.

"Sure, let's get out of here." Finnick replies and pushes his chair back then after standing up helps Annie to her feet.

The six of us walk together back to our hallway then retreat to our respective rooms promising to reunite back outside in one hours time.

"Okay what am I going to wear?" I ask Peeta as soon as we're alone in our room.

"Let's see what you have first." He says and we walk over to our large closet where I have my three fancy dresses hung. There is the one I wore last night then a floor length dark green dress with the wide strap over only one shoulder, I'd have to say that this one is my favorite, then I have one other that comes to my mid-calf that is a cream color with a light green sash a two little ruffles sleeves.

"The long green one." Peeta says almost immediately after viewing all three.

"My thoughts exactly." I say smiling and take it off the hanger. I don't change yet because we have an hour and I don't really want to wear it longer than is necessary.

For half an hour Peeta and I just lounge on our big bed, talking about anything and everything.

"I love you Katniss." Peeta mumbles into my hair.

"I love you more." I whisper and roll over to look him in the eye. He puts his arms around me and pulls me into his chest. I sigh in contentment and snuggle to him. We lie like that for a while resting and sneaking in the occasional kiss, but we finally have to get up and prepare for the party that I still don't want to go to.

Peeta helps me zip up the back of my dress and once it's on I put on some black sandals and a necklace and earring set that match my dress. I pull my wavy hair into a loose side pony and give myself a quick onceover in the mirror.

"You look amazing." Peeta whispers behind me.

"Thanks." I say blushing a little at the compliment.

"Ready?" I nod and take his hand once more. We meet the other two couples outside and both girls look utterly stunning.

Annie is wearing a knee length sea blue wavy dress with silver heels and Madge is wearing a long yellow strapless dress with matching heels and earrings; the dress definitely makes her hair look golden.

We look quite a sight walking down to the party, many glances were thrown our way and I could tell Peeta tense beside me every time someone even looked at me.

I felt like a princess on the arm of a prince and I decided that just this night, I would enjoy myself.

_**Well what did you think? It's kind of a filler, but not every chapter can be all exciting and action pact! Thanks to all of you awesome reviewers!**_

_**FearlesswithHimJC: I guess we'll find out! Thanks for reviewing glad you liked it!**_

_**Tjtreader: Thank you!**_

_**TragedyIsTheKey: Well don't worry I could never kill off one of our favorite characters! So glad you liked it, but yeah this is definitely not the end of their troubles**____** Thanks so much for all you encouraging reviews**___

_**Jessy0622: haha sorry no hints but I can tell you that nobody that we like will die ;) Thanks for the funny review, I love getting you opinion on the chapters**_____

_**HGFan4719: sorry! But glad you like it**____** Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Dancinghld: Hoped you liked this one too! Thanks for the review!**_

_**TheSPARKinMe: I guess you'll see! Yeah they are dumb and smart at the same time, lol. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**XliekeX: Yay Peeta and Gale are heroes! Well the fun won't last forever…**____** Thanks so much for reviewing!**_

_**Liv: Yeah I know! I couldn't keep them apart for long! Thanks again for you constant reviews!**_

_**Acaycia: they sure did, aren't they all so adorable together! Yeah maybe maybe not! Glad you liked it, Thanks for the reviews!**_

_**Katniss72500: yeah I know, haha, hoped you liked this one too**____** Thanks so much for the reviews!**_

_**Canadianboy98: haha, hope you liked this one too**___

_**MandaMay1324: Aw thanks! I hope you won't be disappointed! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Amanda: Why thank you very much! That means a lot that people are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it! Thanks!**_

_**Sabi1994: Well maybe we can get to know each other more with more chapters! Thanks so much for the review!**_

_**Thanks again guys**____**Sorry for any mistakes**____** Don't forget to review this time too! **_

_**~FirePearl**_


	6. Fight!-Chapter 6

_**Merry Christmas All! Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Sorry it's been days since I last updated but what can I say? It's Christmas holidays and I've been busy! I'm sure you all understand;)**_

_**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews for the last chapter, don't worry the action will pick up soon! I think we got about 12 reviews, that's great! I hope you all enjoy this one as well, happy reading!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games but I am pretty sure that I own this plot**___

_**Chapter 6**__**…**_

"So what do you think of it so far?" Peeta asks. We have been here for a little less than an hour and I have to admit that I have had more fun than I expected. Probably most of the young couples on the cruise have congregated in this huge room with chandeliers and flashing disco balls, a small stage where someone is currently singing and a guy playing the guitar. Two long tables on either side of the room are filled with snacks and drinks leaving the middle for dancing.

"I like it." I tell him and he smiles down at me. "I'm glad."

"By the way, where is everyone else?" I ask, my eyes combing the area for our friends.

"Well Madge and Gale are over in the corner dancing." I look to where he is pointing and find that sure enough the two lovebirds are dancing slowly. Madge's arms are locked securely around her husband's neck and Gale has his big hands placed on her tiny waist, Madge's head rests on his broad chest as they sway to the music.

"And Finnick took Annie out on deck for some fresh air a few minutes ago." He finishes. "How do know all of this?"

He chuckles, "I am very observant." I laugh along with him and then all of a sudden Peeta is pulling me to the dance floor just as a new song begins to play.

"Peeta, I am a terrible dancer!" I whine slightly, trying to pull him back to the food.

"Oh come on, I sure you're wonderful." He whispers.

"I don't want to dance!" He doesn't answer but just takes my arms and places them around his neck just like Madge had done with Gale and in turn he places his own arms around my waist. I sigh but just relax into him and move my feet to the music, not really following any particular pattern.

"I wish that I could just freeze this moment and live in it forever." I can barely hear him when he says this, his voice muffled in my hair.

"Me too Peeta." I whisper back. He pulls back a little and at first I think that he doesn't want to dance anymore but then he drops his head down to my and level closes in the distance between us. A shiver runs through my body when his lips touch mine and I moan quietly. One of my hands move up to tangle itself in his blond waves and the other behind his neck bringing him closer to me. I know that we are in the middle of the dance floor, with people all around but for the moment I don't really care.

But of course we have to part at some point and almost as soon as his lips are no longer on mine I feel somewhat cold even though his arms are still around me.

"I'll never tire of kissing you." Peeta whispers huskily into my ear.  
"You're not so bad yourself." I say jokingly. He chuckles quietly and we continue dancing and getting in the occasional kiss. All of a sudden I notice something while glancing over Peeta's shoulder and I immediately tense up. He of course notices this and tightens his grip on my waist.

"What is it?" I stand on my tiptoes and look behind him again; this time I let go of Peeta but grab his hand and practically drag him to the doors.

"Katniss, what did you see?"

"I think I saw Cato and Colette standing over there, I just don't want them to see us, and we should probably warn the others."

"I won't let them touch you, don't worry honey." He assures me. I nod and give him a small smile, then we walk over towards Madge and Gale. It takes a few seconds before we get their attention because they are just so engrossed in each other that they are oblivious to everything and everyone around them.

"Can you come back in about five minutes?" Gale groans and says without even looking up.

"Cato and Colette are here!" I hiss at them. At those names they immediately break apart and look at us. Madge whimpers and sinks into Gale and he holds her tight.

"Where are they, I'd like to teach them a little lesson so they know not to touch my wife ever again."

"Uh Gale, that is probably not the best idea right now." Peeta warns him. He huffs somewhat loudly but seems to take Peeta's advice, for now, and takes Madge's arm.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Madge just shrugs and lets him lead her away.

"We need to tell Finn and Annie." Peeta says and I nod. We walk hand-in-hand out to the main deck where a few couples are enjoying the night air. It doesn't take long to find the duo, standing side by side leaning out over the railing.

We come up behind them and Peeta taps Finnick on the shoulder, he immediately turns around and for a second I think that Peeta might get punched in the face.

"Oh, it's you." Annie turns around as well and her face lights up. "Did you guys need some fresh air too?"

I shake my head, "We think we saw Cato and Colette on the dance floor and just wanted to warn you two, Gale already took Madge back to their room."

"Thanks for the heads up, but I think we'll stay here for now, I'm sure they wouldn't try something with all these people around."

Peeta shrugs "Suit yourselves but call us if you fall into any trouble."

"Sure dude, see you two later." Then just like that they both turn their backs to us.

"Want to go back to the cabin?" Peeta asks.

"Sure, let's go."

"I'm really sorry Kat, I don't want to have to leave early either."

"No! Don't worry about it, it's fine." I say, trying not to act disappointed. _Why did they have to ruin our fun night! _

"I am positive that there will be other parties like this since we'll be here for two weeks." He says encouragingly.

"Peeta, seriously it's no big deal."

"Okay, if you say so." We continue walk the five minutes that it takes us to get back to our private cabin in silence. We are just rounding the corner when I hear a scuffle in our hallway then the sound of someone crying out in pain. I gasp when I see what is making the sounds.

Gale and Cato are in a full on fight, punches are flying and both of them have blood on their faces. I literally scream when I notice Madge lying on the ground, blood is seeping from a wound on the side of her head and she isn't moving. Just then Colette jumps out from another hallway and climbs onto Gale's back, knife in hand. Peeta pushes me towards Madge and hands me the key to our room.

"Get her into our cabin and take a look at her head wound." I nod but then realize what he plans on doing, before I can say anything Peeta kisses me softly. "Gale needs some help, it'd probably be helpful if you called Finnick though, we might need some help, especially if they have weapons." I nod again, a few tears escaping my eyes at the same time. I quickly dig my cell phone out of my small purse and dial Finnick's number, praying for him to pick up; at the same time I hurry over to Madge and pick her up, holding the phone between my neck and ear. Finnick answers on the third ring, "Katniss, what is it?" Between sobs I explain to him everything that just happened.

"Okay I'll be right there." Then he hangs up; I grit my teeth and hurry over to my door. It takes a few tries before I get the key inserted correctly and hear the click indicating that it is unlocked, but I finally do and then I kick the door open with my foot. I gently place Madge on our bed and put the keys and phone on the dresser. Then I dash into the bathroom and grab a small towel to wrap around her head. I am no doctor so I really don't know what to do about her wound except stop the blood flow so I'll have to call the nurse when all this is over. Once Madge is situated I hurry back outside, closing the door beside me. Finnick has already arrived and Annie is coming towards me with a first air kit.

"Can you check on Madge please?" I ask. She nods, "I found this in our room and thought it'd come in handy." I then let her inside and sprint over to the fight. They all have multiple wounds, some bleeding, some not, others from the knife and still others from fists. I am surprised that Cato and Colette are still holding out even against the three guys, but apparently they were quite prepared for something like this. Peeta sees me approaching and yells for me to stay out of it but I just keep coming, determined to help them. Just then Peeta lets out a cry of pain and I observe where the pain is coming from. Colette just dragged her knife along the inside of his arm and he now has about a foot long slice now flowing with dark red blood. I scream and lunge for her, getting a kick in the stomach in the process. Peeta keeps yelling, desperately telling me to go back to the room.

"I'm not leaving you again! I am going to help!" I say and land a kick with my heel in Colette's jaw, I ended up ripping my dress down the leg but I'm not worried about that right now. Colette screams in pain and drops the knife, clutching her face and wiping the blood with her shirt. I quickly reach for the knife and snatch it up before Cato notices. He has Gale in a headlock so I take the knife and slice his arm; he releases my friends immediately, howling in agony.

"Thanks Catnip."

"Anytime Gale." Now both of our enemies are on the ground, holding their wounds and moaning in pain.

Suddenly Finnick exits his room with some rope slung over one arm, I hadn't even noticed his absence during the struggle. Peeta holds Colette's arms behind her back while Finnick ties them securely and Gale does the same with Gale.

"Now, what to do with you too." Gale muses, rubbing his chin. His question is answered almost immediately when a group of about 5 guys in uniforms enter the hallway.

"Having trouble here?" One of them asks.

"Yes sir." Finnick answers. "They attacked our friends here, the girl is unconscious right now." The leader nods to his men and they come up to us pick the culprits up roughly by the arm.

"Yes, please send the nurse down the room 204." One of the uniformed men says into a walkie-talkie. "Take them away." The other men nod and guide Cato and his sister away.

"Are you all okay?" The captain asks. Gale nods, "Just a few flesh wounds that will heal in time, thank you for your help."

"Don't worry about it, it's our job, I am just sorry this happened to you all."

"Thank you." I grunt, still hunched over a little from getting kicked in the stomach. Peeta hurries over to me and kisses me quickly.

"I'm so glad you're alright." I then get a look at his face, it's very pale and he starts to sway a little but I catch him before he falls, at the same time groaning under his weight.

"He's lost a lot of blood." Finnick says, who seems to be unscathed. "Need some help?" I nod and he puts his arm around Peeta and helps him to our room where he picks up Annie and I am left with Peeta and Madge lying on the bed. Madge is still asleep but her head is all patched up now, thanks to Annie's first aid knowledge. A minute later Gale enters the room and hurries over to Madge, scooping her up in his arms. Without a word he walks right back out of the door to his own room.

I lay down on the bed beside Peeta who looks like he is about to pass out, then I realize that his arm is still wounded and blood is still coming out. I grab another towel from the bathroom and tie it around his cut and just wait for the nurse to get here.

Peeta's eyes are just beginning to close when she arrives with a large white medical bag. She doesn't speak but gets right down to business; taking the towel off gently then dabbing the wound with an antiseptic, then sewing it up so that it can heal properly. I cover my face with my hands when she puts the needle through his skin, wincing right along with him. It only takes a few minutes, but when she is finished he has about 50 stitches running down his left arm. The nurse then winds some bandages around it and ties it in a knot when finished.

"Here, take these for the pain in your stomach." She says quietly and hands me two pills and a glass of water. I swallow the medicine and lay back onto the soft pillows.

"Thank you very much." She just smiles and begins packing up her bag.

"Um, would you mind going across the hall to room 206, some friends of mine were hurt as well."

She nods, "Of course." She lets herself out of the room and at last Peeta and I are alone. He has fallen asleep so I stand up carefully and walk around to his side of the bed. I slip his shoes off, then his pants and dress shirt and cover him up with the blanket. Then I change into my pajamas and brush my teeth and take off my little bit of makeup, ten minutes later I am crawling into bed beside Peeta.

"Good Night." I whisper even though he is already asleep. I place a kiss on his forehead and then his bandaged arm, then I rest my head on his chest and let the steady beating of his heart lull me to sleep.

_**Yay! Chapter 6 is now complete! What did you think? Hope you enjoyed it and the fight! Please excuse any mistakes, I did read it over this time so hopefully there aren't many**___

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter!**_

_**~Thestrals and Dandelions: Thanks! Glad you thought so!**_

_**~canadianboy98: Thanks! Well was that enough action to hold you? Hope so!**_

_**~FearlesswithHimJC: Thank you! Did you like this action filled chapter? I have to say that exciting chapters like these are definitely easier to write! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~Dancinghld: Wow good guess! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~HGFan4719: Really? That's great! I'm so glad that people are really getting into this story! Thanks!**_

_**~jessy0622: Yeah, I just couldn't do that! Yeah I know! Crazy huh? Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!**_

_**~Katniss72500: Yay! I just couldn't leave them out of the excitement! Yeah, but don't worry, they won't die! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~aly-hungergames: Aw thank you! So glad!**_

_**~TragedyIsTheKey: Oh I'm glad! Well they did! Did you enjoy the fight? Well Merry Christmas to you too! And I updated before new years, yay! Thanks for the wonderful review!**_

_**~Acaycia: Yay! Thank you!**_

_**~MandaMay1324: Why thank you very much! That means a lot to me! Thanks so much!**_

_**~Liv: Yeah! They are like one of my favorite couples! Thank you!**_

_**Thank you all! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, Happy New Year, see you all in 2013!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	7. Just a Lazy Day-Chapter 7

_**Hey Guys, so, so sorry it's taken me this long to update but with New Years and I've been sick the past few days I really haven't had a chance! But I'm updating now and I hope you enjoy it! It is sort of a filler sappy chapter but hey we need a little everlark since they are the two main characters in this story! **_

_**I have a little clearing up to do about the last chapter, someone brought to my attention the use of the word captain yesterday and for those of you who really thought it was the captain of the ship it wasn't, it was the leader of the police guys but I was just looking for a different word to use, sorry for that, and just so you know they are not bad guys **___

_**Thanks again for all of the wonderful reviews! We are up to 71 in only 6 chapters, this is awesome! Okay I'm finished here so enjoy the chapter…**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #7…**_

"Hey, how are you feeling honey?" I ask Peeta the next morning. Neither of us felt hungry so we just stayed in bed. He opens his eyes and smiles lazily to me as I stroke his curls and peer down at him from my position above.

"Better, my arm is just a bit sore." "That's good." I whisper and lean down to place a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Katniss, I'm really sorry for everything that is happening and that has happened, this isn't really how I imagined our honeymoon to be." Lying back down beside him I place my head right over his beating hard and sigh in contentment.

"It's not your fault Peeta, it's no ones fault and I still think that this is the best honeymoon ever." He puts his good arm around my back and gives me a tight squeeze.

"Well what do you want to do today Kat?" I shrug my shoulders and don't answer so he continues,

"Well I won't be doing much with my arm all wrapped up so we can just hang out here for the day." I smile, "Sounds perfect." I snuggle closer into him and he tightens his arm around me, I end up falling asleep a few minutes later.

I wake up a while later to someone gently rubbing designs all over my back. I sit up slowly and look down into my husbands enchanting blue eyes.

"Hey, sleep well?" I nod, "You?" "Yeah, we slept another two hours, it's already lunch time." He tells me.

"Seriously? We need to eat something."

"Good point, well there is a number in that little booklet over there for room service."

"Great." I swing my legs over the side of the bed and slide off right into my furry slippers. Finding the booklet on the dresser I search through the pages for the room service number.

"It's on the back." Peeta says. Flipping to the back I find it and quickly dial the numbers on the phone in our room.

"Yes, I'd like to order whatever is on the lunch menu for today to room 204, yes, thank you." Hanging up I smile at Peeta and hop back onto the bed next to him. "It'll be here in 15 minutes." I say.

"Great, I'm starved!" I chuckle and snuggle back up to him.

"Well you should probably put a housecoat or real clothes on before answering the door." He tells me.

"Yeah, yeah I will, later." I mumble and close my eyes with Peeta stroking my hair. What feels like only a few seconds later my eyes pop open to someone knocking on our door. Jumping off the bed I slip into my housecoat and slippers and run my fingers through my hair before unlocking the door to receive our meal. The waitress hands my two trays and a paper bag, I have to make two trips do get it all in the room. I thank her then relock the door and bring the food over to the bed and place one of the trays on Peeta's lap. Then I set the paper bag in between us and pull out a bottle of water and a small glass bottle of red wine and two glasses.

"I don't know how that girl carried all of this in one shot all the way up here." I say mostly to myself.

"Waitress powers." Peeta chuckles quietly.

"So what did you get on your tray?" I ask. He uncovers it and inspects the food. "Well it have a bowl of soup and a plate of chicken, rice and gravy and a slice of chocolate cake. What about you?" Taking the cover off of my own tray I look to see what I have, "Sautéed vegetables and some type of fish with a white sauce; I also got a bowl of some kind of soup and a piece of cake and some fruit salad, we can share if you want."

"Sounds good, I'll eat half of my food and you do the same then we can trade." I pour us each a glass of water and save the wine for this evening, then I dig right into my meal and in five minutes half of it is gone and Peeta and I are trading trays. I moan every little while during the meal, just savoring the food and pretty soon both of our trays are empty and we're out of food with full stomachs. I get up from the bed and stack our trays on the dresser and climb back into bed, feeling like a lazy lump.

"Do you know what Madge and Gale are up to today?" Peeta asks.

"I'm not sure but Madge was injured pretty badly from what I saw so they'll probably be doing the same thing as us for most of the day." I reply.

"Yeah I heard, what exactly happened to her, I didn't get a very close look."

"She was hit on the head with something sharp and lost a lot of blood, but other than that I don't think she had any other injuries."

"I hope she'll be okay."

"I'm sure she will, with the nurses help and Gale waiting on her hand and foot she'll heal pretty quickly with no interruptions." Peeta chuckles and locks his hands behind his head, leaning back onto the headboard. Even when he's relaxed his six-pack is still very visible and the toned muscles of his chest and arms never cease to amaze me.

"Like what you see?" I glance back up blushing like I was caught doing some I shouldn't and my husband chuckles again. I decide to play along and reply seductively, "Oh yes." He smirks and flexes the bicep on his good arm. I giggle and give him a quick peck on his still smirking lips. "Oh you're going to have to do better than that!" He says and pulls me down on top of him. I smile and crash my lips to his, at the same time putting on of my hands behind his head to hold him in place and also try not to hurt his arm. He kisses me harder and I feel like I might faint if I don't come up for air soon, thankfully he must be thinking the same thing and we both pull away at the same time, gasping for breath.

"You know, it's been a while since we did that, you need to kiss me more often." Peeta says after he is breathing normally again.

"We kiss plenty!" I say in my defense.

"Sure, just not enough."

Throwing my hands up I sigh and say, "Well we'll just have to take care of that won't we?" Peeta grins and brings me back down to his level, we kiss longer this time and I swear my face was starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen. When we're both too tired to do anything more I get rid of my housecoat and slip back underneath the blankets next to my heater. He seriously is always warm! Peeta puts his arm around me again and pulls me even closer into his side. I in turn rest my head on his chest once more and listen to the beat of his heart while he strokes my hair absentmindedly.

"Do you want to get up for dinner in a few hours?" I ask sleepily.

"Sure, that sounds like a smart idea."

"Good." I close my eyes again and fall into a pleasant dream. It's about Peeta and I in the future with our children; now that everything is different I'm not so against bringing kids into the world, and I know how much Peeta wants them. We have two in the dream, a girl about 5 years old that looks just like I did when I was little; she is running through the meadow in district 12, brown braid flying in the wind and gray eyes shining. Then there is a little boy, probably about two years old, he looks like Peeta: blond curls bouncing on the top of his head as he runs after his sister and bright blue eyes bursting with happiness. Then it's Peeta and I, sitting next to my tree together holding hands, smiling at our children, then Peeta's hand goes to rest on my stomach where a small bump is beginning to show. We look so happy together, like a real family with no capitol and no Snow to ruin our lives and kill our children.

I wake up smiling, just thinking about how when we get back home, I'm going to tell Peeta that I want kids, probably almost as much as he does now. He is still sound asleep when I open my eyes so I just stay quiet as not to bother him. Glancing at the clock next to our bed the red numbers are flashing 5:00pm, only a little over an hour until dinnertime. Peeta looks so peaceful when he's asleep, I could just get lost in him. A few seconds later his eyes flutter open and he smirks because he knows that he caught me staring.

Instead of saying what I was expecting he says, while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "What time is it?"

"It's 5:05pm, we have an hour to get ready before we need to leave for dinner."

"Good, because I'm hungry again!" I laugh and sit up.

"Well I'm going to get up, I'll probably won't be able to sleep tonight!"

"Oh you will." Peeta smiles and sits up as well. "I think I am going to take a quick shower before we get ready."

"Do you need any help, I mean with you bandages and all." I ask, we've only been married for about two weeks so I still haven't totally gotten used to showering with someone.

Peeta grins then sobers quickly, "Yes please, it might be a little tricky washing my hair with one arm." I smile shyly and follow him to the bathroom. Thankfully the shower is big enough. After showering I blow dry my hair so that it looks presentable then Peeta and I just lounge on the bed in our housecoats and watch whatever is on the TV until it is time to change for dinner.

The dress I wore last night to the party is in need of some sewing help so instead of dressing up tonight like I have been doing I just find a pair of nicer black skinny jeans and an airy dark blue somewhat formal tank top with a little design along the top. Then I slip into some black flats with blue sequence on the top and fix my hair into one long ponytail down the back.

"You look beautiful." Peeta whispers coming up behind me.

"You always say that!"

"Yes, but it's always true." He is also dressed in casual jeans and blue button up that matches my own top nicely.

"Ready?" He asks a few minutes later. I nod and link my arm through his good one.

"Should we knock and see if Madge and Gale are going?" I shake my head, "Nah, how about we have dinner just the two of us tonight."

"Ooh, I like what you're thinking." He replies smiling.

"I knew you would." And together we walk arm-in-arm to our next meal.

We are taken to a table for two on the side of the huge room and left to look through our menus.

"I think I'm going for pizza today." I say a minute later, "And maybe a salad, it has chicken in it and sounds good."

"Okay, actually pizza sounds delicious, I'll get one too just a different kind and we can try each others."

"Great! Are you going to order anything with that?"

"Um, maybe some chicken soup, like the soup you had at lunch with chicken and those long noodles, it was so good!"

"Okay then, now all we have to do is wait for our waitress to come and take our orders." I say. We close our menus and lean back in our fancy chairs.

"Oh, what about drinks!" I say, just remembering. We open our menus once more and each settle with iced tea with a lemon on the side.

"I've never had it but apparently it's pretty good." Peeta informs me.

"Hopefully." Soon enough the waitress arrives at our table and takes our orders. The food shouldn't take as long this time since it is only the two of us and not six this time. Sure enough it comes only a few minutes later and we enjoy our very first iced tea and our second pizza in our lives. It takes us a while to eat then when we are finished we just sit and talk about everything and soon we are the only ones left in the dining room.

"What time is it?" Peeta asks a while later. "Oh wow, its 8:00pm!" I say, glancing down at my watch.

"Time really flew by didn't it?" I nod, "It sure did, but it was nice, wasn't it?"

"It was very nice." He smiles and gives my hand a squeeze from across the table.

"Should we go then?" I ask.

"Sure, let's go." We finish off our drinks quickly and are just about to stand up when I see a dark form come up behind Peeta and before I can scream to warn him the man has hit him in the side of the head with something hard and Peeta falls unconscious and limp, resting his head on the table.

"Peeta!" I scream before I too fall into darkness.

_**Oh no! Well it's been a while since I ended with a cliffhanger so I thought it was time **____** Well I only got 9 reviews for the last chapter, which is good but only gets a less than 2000 word chapter but I was kind of on a roll here and ended getting up to 2500, I'm sure you don't mind ;) lol.**_

_**I hope you all enjoyed it! It was fun to write **___

_**Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review!**_

_**But before you go I want to quickly thank the reviewers from the last chapter,**_

_**~MandaMay1324**_

_**~Acaycia**_

_**~FearlesswithHimJC**_

_**~fuzzysocksandwriting**_

_**~HGFan4719**_

_**~Katniss72500**_

_**~TragedyIsTheKey**_

_**~Dancinghld**_

_**~jessy0622**_

_**Thanks Guys! Until next time **___

_**~FirePearl**_


	8. Can you Swim?-Chapter 8

_**Hello! I'm updating again and it hasn't been a long time! Yay for me! We got about 13 reviews for the last chapter, thanks so much guys! We are now up to 86 reviews in only 7 chapters, that's amazing! The most I've ever gotten with any other story.**_

_**I've started school again so updates might be a little less frequent than they are now but hopefully not too much, I just love writing too much and I can't express how much it means to me that you all are enjoying it **___

_**Well that's all for now, enjoy this exciting chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #8…**_

_Last time: We finish off our drinks quickly and are just about to stand up when I see a dark form come up behind Peeta and before I can scream to warn him the man has hit him on the side of the head with something hard and Peeta falls unconscious and limp, resting his head on the table._

"_Peeta!" I scream before I too fall into darkness._

It's dark. Too dark. Very dark, and my head is throbbing. I try and remember what happened to get me in this situation when it all comes flooding back to be in one huge wave of scary memories. My dinner for two with Peeta, the food, the tall man dressed in black looming over him from behind, my husband falling on the table unconscious then me following suit.

So either Cato or Colette escaped, or were let out by the captain, or we have more enemies on this ship then we thought. I try and sit up but immediately feel dizzy and lie back down on the cold hard floor or whatever I am lying on. It is so dark that I can't even see my hand that is directly in front of my face, so instead I move my arms all around me trying to feel anything that could tell me where I am. My hand bumps into something a few seconds later and I gently and slowly sit up, all the while running my hands all over the form. It doesn't take long for me to recognize Peeta's body and I automatically scoot over beside him

Finding his face I brush the hair that fell into his eyes and stroke his cheek softly, whispering to him all the while, willing for him to wake up. But he doesn't and I am left alone in this dark room with an unconscious husband and fear for what might be happening to our friends.

My headache eventually subsides but Peeta still does not wake. I continually rub his arm or stroke his face, even kiss him a few times but he doesn't even move, so I give up trying to wake him up for the time being and place my head on his chest like I always do and fall asleep.

I awake a while later to someone shaking me roughly by the shoulders. I groan and my eyes flutter open and come face to face with the captain of the ship. I gasp and sit up, trying not to show my fear but I'm sure it's written all over my face.

"You missy, are in big trouble for hurting my friends here." He says evilly and gestures to Cato and Colette who stand behind him, bandages wrapped around them in different places where Peeta and Gale hurt them.

"They were beating up my friends!" I yell at him.

"Only to keep them from messing up my plans."

"Oh right, your plans to sink the ship and kill a bunch of innocent people just to get back at us for freeing everyone from Snow, yeah great plan mister." He turns red with anger and slaps me painfully on the side of my face. I shrink back beside Peeta and hold my hand to my face while trying not to let the tears that are threatening to spill come out.

I glance down at him, my vision blurring and sigh quietly when he isn't awake ready to protect me from those who try and hurt me.

"I am going to avenge my brother's death by killing all of you little rebels, including your best friends." He laughs an evil laugh and Cato and Colette each crack a smile. I hold my breath when he says this. I didn't know that President Snow had any siblings, just great.

"Now, everything will go exactly as planned, only the 6 of you know of our plans so we'll just keep you two locked up in here and you can drown together; and everyone else will just think it was some malfunction with the ship when it begins to take one water."

"You won't get away with this." I tell him.

"Oh yes I will, and you will die knowing that all of your work against me and my brother was in vain." And with that he smiles at me again and walks out with Cato and Colette following on his heels like his own personal servants, or dogs even. With all the thoughts of what could happen anytime the tears now begin streaming down my cheeks and I don't bother to wipe them away. My cheek stings and I'm sure that it'll be bruised in a little while and Peeta will probably freak out when he wakes up and see; if he wakes up.

I just sit there on the floor in the dark, the captain took the light with him and so now I can't see anything. Maybe it's better that way, then Peeta can't see my face. I don't know how long I sit in the dark room, I have no way to tell the time, my phone and watch are left in our room. I think about Prim and my Mother who will be sad to hear that the boat sunk and there were only three survivors, the captain and his two minions.

I try and let the sound of Peeta's steady breathing lull me to sleep but this time it doesn't work. I can't fall asleep now knowing what could happen or maybe is happening right now.

It is very boring just sitting around doing nothing so I decide to see if I can find the door again. I stand up and stretch my arms out in front of me for feeling and begin walking straight ahead. A few seconds later I bump into a wall, by rubbing my hands all over I figure out that the wall is made out of a type of wood but this particular floor is stone, which is strange to have on a ship. Touching the wall with my fingers I walk along the length of the wall until I get to a corner and begin shuffling along in a different direction. I find the door, which is also made of wood, but after locating the doorknob of course I can't open it.

I try banging and kicking it hoping that someone will hear be, but to no avail. I give up a few minutes later with very sore hands and a few bruised toes from kicking the door in my flats, I'm sure that are pretty beat up as well. Just then I fall to the ground, as the ship seems to be sliding to one side. Getting up I brush off my pants and continue going along the wall, ignoring what the reason for me falling could be. I soon feel a few strips of wood that feel loose enough for me to pull out and begin to yank on them with all of my strength, seeing as this could be our only chance at escape.

My fingers get splinters but I try to ignore them and keep pulling at the pieces of wood. A little more tugging at the wood and one of them comes free. Instant light fills the room and I am temporarily blinded. Throwing the wood on the ground in one corner I quickly finish taking out the other two and look out. The boards were covering up the only window in this room that looks out over the ocean, the moon is shining on the water and looks amazing even from the window of my prison cell. But looking to the side of the huge ship I notice something that doesn't look normal; the long boat is dipping a little to deep into the deep dark waters at the back, which can only mean one thing: they have already begun the sinking of the ship.

Grabbing up one of the sharper boards I run headlong to the door that I can now see pretty clearly and begin ramming into it over and over again until I've broken through the old wood of the door and a few minutes later I have a big enough hole to get through. Then I remember the unconscious Peeta still lying on the ground, unmoving.

I hurry over to him and lock my hands under his arms and begin dragging him over to the door._ This is definitely going to be a challenge getting him through this hole; I sure hope I can do it! _Grunting I lift his large frame a little higher than the floor, trying to figure out how I'll get him through without hurting him too badly. Suddenly he lets out a groan and his eyes flutter open.

"Peeta!" I drop him a little harder than I had intended and begin kissing him all over his face. He chuckles and sits up with me on his lap.

"Hey honey." He gives me a kiss then looks me in the eye, "Why were you dragging me and where are we?"

"Peeta, the captain freed Cato and his sister and during dinner they knocked you out then me and brought us here. We've been here for hours and it is the middle of the night. I just broke the boards of the window, before it was too dark to see anything." I end up telling him hurriedly about my conversation with the captain and how I think that the ship could already be sinking and that we need to get out of here. I help him stand up and we both assist each other with climbing through the hole I made in the door and soon we are both free.

I jump into his arms as soon as we are out, "I'm so glad you are okay!" I whisper.

"Me too, now we need to go warn the others." Forgetting about my sore feet and bloody knuckles we take off at a dead run up a few flights of stairs and down hallways until we come to our room. By now the boat is really slanting downward. Peeta instructs me to go to our room and pack up what we'll need the most and he goes to warn The Odairs and Hawthones. I don't really know what to grab but I find a backpack and stuff some clothes and shoes into it for both of us, and whatever could be useful, my swimsuit and sun tan lotion, sunglasses and my necklace from Annie. I leave my makeup and fancy clothes and books behind. By now the backpack is full and Peeta is struggling to come into the room because the boat is going down fast. He swings the pack onto his back and grabs my hand as we run out of the room just as Gale exits their room also with a pack on his back and Madge in his arms who looks white with terror. Annie and Finnick follow us a few seconds later and together the six of us begin running upward, trying to avoid the cold dark waters that are continually rising. Screams are heard, everywhere. No one wants to die on a luxury cruise; no one wants to lose a loved one. Kicking off my shoes I just leave them behind me.

We soon arrive at the very top of the boat and everyone looks down. The boat is almost vertical now and people are falling down into the depths of the ocean screaming.

"Hold on to the railing!" Peeta yells and we all obey, trying to hold ourselves in place.

"I love you Peeta." I say tearfully and reach up to give him one last kiss.

"I love you too Katniss." He wraps his free arm around my waist, pulling me closely to him and leans down to give me a kiss. It soon turns desperate, both of us knowing that this could very well be our last kiss and neither on of us wanting to end. He squeezes me so tightly and kisses me so hard I think I might burst but I don't let go. Finally Peeta lets up, both of us breathing heavily both from the kiss and literally holding onto the railing of the ship to not fall to the fate of so many others.

"Look!" We all look to where Madge is pointing and sure enough the only yellow safety boats are floating away with three dark figures in them.

"They got away!" Gale yells, his face fuming with anger. Only someone from Snow's family could be so heartless and leave the hundreds of people to drown with no hope of a rescue.

"We need to jump." Finnick tells us.

"I can't swim!: Madge cries and Gale holds her tighter and says, "Don't worry I can, I'll help you." This seems to calm her down but only a little.

"Can you swim Peeta?" I ask hopefully. He smiles and nods, "Yeah I learned when I was little, I just hope that I can still remember."

"Good," I say, "That means all of us can swim with the exception of Madge, that's good I guess."

"Okay, I'll go first and the rest of you follow." Finnick directs and before any of us can say anything he jumps off the edge in a clean dive and cuts through the water like a fish. Annie jumps immediately after Finnick's head pops up out of the water and gives the sign for her to jump. She goes down just as professionally as her husband and the two of them tread water below waiting patiently for us to follow their lead.

"Katniss you go next." Peeta tells me. I nod and nervously look over the edge. "Don't worry I'll be right behind you." "Okay." I say and give him one last quick kiss then shutting my eyes I dive down to the waters below. I come up a minute later, gasping for air and shivering like crazy from the sudden cold. Peeta is already beside me and easily treading water, now only Madge and Gale are left.

"Okay I'm going to drop Madge and Finnick I need you to catch her!" Gale calls down from above us. Finnick agrees and prepares to catch Madge once she hits the water. I vaguely see Gale talking to Madge then she's falling and a few seconds later she is safely in Finnick's arms, clinging on for dear life. Gale dives down next and soon all six of us are swimming around together.

"Now we just need to find a small island or something." Annie says.

"Yeah right, I'm sure we'd be that lucky to find one real close." Gale answers sarcastically.

"Well Gale do you have a better idea?" He shakes his head. "I thought so."

"Well then, lets start heading in this direction for now." Finnick announces and we all begin swimming the same way he is. Gale swims easily with Madge on his back who is carrying the backpack and Finn and Annie are in the front making clean cut strokes through the water. It's not very long until I start feeling tired and my legs and arms are burning and the salt water stinging in the cuts on my knuckles. After an hour of continual swimming we haven't found a single trace of any kind of land. I feel myself begin to fall asleep and I splash water on my face to try and stay awake. Just as my head is being submerged under the water I hear the one word that I've been waiting for, "Land!" And then everything goes black.

_**Wow what an exciting chapter don't ya think?! It was really fun to write! I hope you all enjoyed reading it! Please excuse my mistakes! Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review! They make my day**___

_**pearl86: hey! Love the name! Thanks for reviewing! Sorry I left ya hanging on the last one and this one too but it kinda makes it more interesting **____** So glad you like it! Thanks again!**_

_**Amanda: Oops, silly mistake, thanks for pointing it out, I just need to go back and change it **____** Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Stealthy 1: Haha thank you, well here is the new chapter, hope you liked it, thanks for reviewin!**_

_**HGFAn4719: Awe thanks! Sorry for making you wait, hope this chapter was worth it!**_

_**xSmiley: Don't worry, I just couldn't let that happen! Why thank you, well hope you enjoyed this more action filled chapter! **_

_**tjtreader: Yay they all got out together, for now…Thanks for reading and reviewing!**_

_**aly-hungergames: I hope you didn't fall off! Thank you so much!**_

_**TragedyIsTheKey: Yeah sorry about that again, lol. It's so hard not to put 'em in! Thank you!**_

_**Katniss72500: Well you were right! Awe that's so sweet! Thanks!**_

_**Jessy0622: I know right?! Well if they didn't this would be a pretty boring story, haha, Thanks glad you liked it, and don't worry I enjoy thanking people for reviewing **_____

_**FearlessWithHimJC: Thanks I am and hope you had a great birthday! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Sabi1994: Thanks for such a long review! I loved reading it **____** I'm so glad you are enjoying it!**_

_**Canadianboy98: Well you found out! Thanks for reviewing **___

_**Thank you all! Until next time ;) Adios!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	9. The Island-Chapter 9

_**Hello! I'm back with another chapter! I'm really sorry to leave you hanging but with school and my other story as well I just haven't had time to update! Thank you so much for all the reviews, we got fourteen so here is a longer chapter! We are now up to 99 total, let's see you can be the lucky 100**__**th**__** reviewer!**_

_**Instead of writing the reviewers for the last chapter at the end of this chapter I decided to do it at the beginning this time…**_

_**~ Amanda3you: Thank you! So glad you are enjoying it. ME too! I've really been waiting to get this story to where it gets more exciting so I hope you like the rest of it!**_

_**~jessy0622: Sorry! But we might be seeing them again sometime soon **____** hehe. Thanks for the sweet and entertaining review as always, hope you enjoy this one too!**_

_**~MandaMay1324: Wow thank you so much! Well you'll find out right at the beginning so keep on reading! Thanks for the review!**_

_**~TrebleGirl77: Thank you!**_

_**~canadianboy98: Yay thanks bro!**_

_**~Guest: Awe thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!**_

_**~Katniss72500: Yep it sure did and now this story should get more interesting ;) Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~ClatoIsReal: Thanks for reviewing! Yep we sure do, and you'll find out at the beginning of this chapter!**_

_**~TragedyIsTheKey: Yes, it was so fun to write! So glad! Thanks!**_

_**~HGFan4719: Hope this one was long enough for ya! **____** So many questions! I guess they will all be answered in time. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**_

_**~Dancinghld: Thank you! **_

_**~Stealthy 1: Sorry about that! Well I'll let you know that this one ends better than the last one **____** Cool! I've never heard of those books! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**_

_**~Sabi1994: Well I'm sorry but sometimes it's so hard not to! But this one ends better, so I think you'll be happy **____** Yeah I know! I thought about that after I wrote it haha. Don't worry, I'm not one to kill off my main characters **____** Thanks for the long review once again!**_

_**~ FearlessWithHimJC: Thank you for the review!**_

_**Wow that's the longest AN ever!**_

_**I hope you all enjoy this new turn of events in the story**___

_**That's all for now!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #9…**_

When I regain consciousness the feeling of someone's lips pressed against mine then hands pressing up and down on my stomach cause me to open my eyes. The first thing I see are those bright blue eyes that I love so much.

"You're back." Peeta breathes. I give him a small smile then start coughing up sand and salt water. My husband pats my back as I get rid of all the seawater in my system.

"Where are we?" I ask, looking around.

"Right when you were submerged under the water Finnick spotted a small island so I brought you here." He replies.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"About 14 hours, it is now late morning."

"Wow. And where are the others? Did they make it here alright?" I ask, beginning to panic.

"Don't worry honey." He soothes, putting his arm around me and pulling me close. "They all made it safely and are just down the beach looking for something to make a shelter out of for tonight."

"Oh good." Looking around me there is a small beach covered in golden sand and the odd seashell and seaweed. The waves lazily lap up the beach then go back out to sea again, each time bringing in more sand, shells, or seaweed. Behind me is a jungle forest, with palm trees scattered all around and dark green bushes. The sound of seagulls is heard overhead and just for a moment I can imagine that we are back in District 4 not stranded on an island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea.

"Think you can walk?" Peeta asks, bringing me out of my survey of the island.

"I think so." I reply. Peeta helps me stand up then keeps his arm around my waist as well walk slowly over to the rest of our pathetic looking group.

"Do we still have the backpack?" I ask a few minutes later. Peeta nods, "We sure do, and thankfully the others have theirs as well so it should help with our survival, at least a little."

"Thank goodness." I say and he chuckles quietly. We arrive a minute later at our supposed 'campsite' and Finnick and Annie each give me a hug expressing how glad they are that I'm okay.

"What about Madge, how is she?" I ask.

"She's still sleeping, Gale hasn't left her side since we got here." Annie tells me. "They're over there." I follow where her finger is pointing to find Madge and Gale lying side by side on a bed of leaves with a small canopy of a number of sticks, branches and leaves above them.

"We made their temporary room first so that Madge would have a place to sleep in the shade." Finnick says. "And Annie and I are almost finished with ours so then we can help you two make one."

"Great, thanks guys." I say smiling. Peeta and I walk around for a few minutes until we find the perfect spot for our 'bedroom', far enough away from the other two for privacy but not too far if there is an emergency. It is between three trees about 2 meters apart, it's small but big enough for sleeping.

"I'm going to get our backpack then we can begin building." Peeta says then heads over to Finnick and Annie. I climb one of our three trees, the one with the most branches making it easier to climb, and scout out the area. As far as the eye can see is the water of the sea. Our island looks tiny compared to how large the sea is. Because the trees aren't too close together I can just make out the Hawthorne canopy and Finnick and Annie's camp as well.

I then spot Peeta's form making it's way back towards me so I scramble down quickly before he thinks something bad happened to me.

"Got it." He says, holding up the large pack for me to see."

"Great!" We sit down together at the center of our 'bedroom' and go through the wet backpack.

We drape what little clothing I brought over branches to dry and set out the other things along the ground to dry out as well. I also find a small blanket that must have been at the bottom of the backpack.

"This will definitely come in handy at night." I say, showing Peeta what I found.

"It sure will, what else did you bring?" I take each thing out one by one and hand them to him. Sunglasses, sun tan lotion, a pack of waterproof matches, my one piece of jewelry from Annie, a small first-aid kit and a pair of sandals for each of us and then our clothes.

"Well at least we have a few things to make living here a little easier." Peeta says.

"Yeah, I guess so." I agree.

"Ready to begin building our room?" Peeta asks. "Finn and Annie told me they'd be over in just a few minutes to give us some pointers because honestly I have no idea how to build a shelter with to real supplies." I chuckle and pat his arm, "Don't worry, before my Dad died, and then after, I learned a few helpful things during all my visits to the woods, Gale taught me a lot."

"Oh good, all is not lost." He says smiling. I smile back and lean in and give him a quick kiss. "Now," I say hopping up, "Let's get started." Giving him my hand I help him up.

"What do we need to do first?" He asks.

"Well, we'll need some sturdy branches to tie to the tree as the roof then while you collect those I'll head over to Finn and Annie's to see if they brought any rope that will make this a little easier."

"Okay then, I'll be on my way then."

"Be careful." I say, giving him a kiss. "You too." Then we part ways, me going to collect the rope that hopefully they have and Peeta searching for sturdy branches and logs for our room/home. As I walk I brush away the leaves and brush from the path to make it easier to get to each other's places; it only takes about 3 minutes of slow walking to get there.

"Hey Kat, what can we do for ya?" Finnick asks with a smile when I arrive at their now finished room. It is a little larger than mine and Peeta's because they added a small cooking area as well where we can all congregate when we eat, if we can find food that is and don't die of starvation of dehydration first.

"Nice place you too got here." I say, complimenting them on their quick work.

"Thanks, it'll do for now, now did you need something?"

"Well I was going to ask if you happened to bring any rope with you and if you had any extra that we could use." Finnick smiles and nods, "As a matter of fact we do, thankfully for me I rarely go anywhere without rope so here you are." He produces a large bit of rope and hands it to me.

"Thanks so much Finn." I say.

"No problem, we'll be over soon to help!" He calls, waving as I leave.

"Okay!" I call back.

It has been less than ten minutes since I left but when I get back Peeta already has a pretty big pile of branches for the roof.

"Are we making walls too?" He asks when I am close enough to hear him. "We'll stick with the roof for now and make sure rain can't get through then we'll make the walls if we have enough rope. The nice thing is that we won't have a cold winter here if we end up still being here when the time comes."

"Yeah, that's one good thing. Well let's start shall we?"

"Let's." I reply and begin sorting through the branches and finding the longest ones that will reach from one tree to the other for the roof.

"How tall should we make the roof?" I ask.

"Well I'd like to be able to stand up without knocking my head so how about here." He makes a mark on one of the trees with a small knife that I didn't notice he had, right above his head.

"Good, but I'm going to need your help getting these up because I can't reach that high."

"Whatever you need." He grins and I just roll my eyes and get back to my sorting. Once I have a neat pile of the longest branches Peeta helps me tie three around the trees so we have a distinct triangle, then once they are tied securely we begin lying the other branches down across then tying them at each end. It takes about an hour to do this and once we're done I feel pretty proud of myself.

"Wow, it's really coming along." We both turn around to see Finnick and Annie standing right outside of our triangle room, smiles on both of their faces.

"Thanks." I say and Peeta just stand quietly beside me.

"We figured you might need some help on the walls, they can be a bit tricky and you will need a lot of hands to do it." Annie says.

"Thank you so much." I tell them, "It would be greatly appreciated." Finnick grins and begins looking the place over. We spend most of the afternoon making the roof so tight that water won't be able to get through, building the two walls with an opening in one of them to let the fresh air in and then for now we just let the third wall open until we have time to make some sort of a door or something.

"Anybody hungry?" Annie asks when we are admiring our hard work.

"I'm starved." Peeta says and Finnick seconds it. I hadn't realized how hungry I am until now; I haven't eaten since yesterday at some point.

"Me too." I say, rubbing stomach. "But do we have anything to eat?" Annie nods, Gale set a few traps last night and this morning once I convinced him to let me stay with Madge for a while and when I took that break a little while ago he gave me two squirrels and a rabbit, already skinned so we're stew tonight!"

"Yum, I can already taste it." I say licking my lips. "It's been so long since I've eaten game straight from the woods."

"Can we help with anything?" Peeta asks.

"No, you two just stay here for a while and come over to our place in about an hour." Annie says.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She insists. Peeta relents and the two of us watch them walk off to their own home.

"Well it looks as though our clothes have dried now, how about we make a little spot to put them." Peeta says, breaking the silence.

"Good idea." Grabbing the smaller logs that weren't needed for the building we make a small wall in one corner to put our meager belongings. We each fold up our clothes into two neat piles and place the other things beside. The only clothes I brought were underwear, two simple tank tops, a pair of shorts and a pair of pants, Peeta has even less since I'm the one that packed his clothes: an extra pair of shorts, two shirts and an extra pair of underwear plus the sandals. There wasn't any more room for anything else.

"Now what?" I ask Peeta.

"How about we just rest in here for a while." He suggests, spreading out our one blanket over the large leaves and soft branches that we laid out for our bed.

"Sounds nice." I say quietly and lay back beside him, resting my head on his chest and just stare up at the roof.

"I can't imagine what will be going through Prim and my Mother's heads when they hear the news." I whisper my thoughts.

"I know." Is all Peeta's says in reply. I snuggle closer into him, "I hope we don't have to live here forever."

"Me too, but don't worry." He assures me and places a soft kiss on my head, "I'm sure we'll be rescued."

"I hope so."

"I'm so glad you made it, that we are going through this together." Peeta says.

"You have no idea Peeta, I'd go crazy if I was here alone."

"I do know, because I'd go crazy too, I almost did when you were unconscious for so long." Lifting my head up a little I look down into his eyes, "I'm sorry Peeta, I love you."

"I love you to Kat, oh so very much." Then he reaches his hand up back behind my head and brings me down to him, letting our lips touch, ever so gently. I decide I've had enough of these teaser kisses and crash my lips to his, wrapping my arms around his neck, holding him in place. Then all of a sudden I am being rolled over and now Peeta is perched above me, still kissing with a passion and hunger I didn't know either of us had. We end up coming up for air a minute or two later, both breathing heavily, each with red, swollen lips. Peeta then lies back down beside me and pulls me as close as he can so that I am almost on top of him.

I sigh in contentment and let my eyes flutter shut while letting my fingers draw random designs on his chest absentmindedly.

All to soon Peeta is gently shaking me awake, telling me that it is time to eat.

"Already?" I groan, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "I just fell asleep!"

"Well I'm sure you are as hungry as I am so let's get over to the Odairs before Finn and Gale eat up all the stew!"

"You're right, let's go." The sun is beginning to set when we step foot outside but thankfully the temperature still feels about the same.

We stroll hand in hand down the path to the light of a fire with Annie bent over it stirring something in an iron pot.

"Where in the world did you find that?" I ask in surprise, pointing at the pot. "You couldn't have brought it! Could you?"

Annie laughs and shakes her head, "No we didn't bring it! It's the strangest thing though; Finnick found it half buried in sand with wooden bowls and spoons inside earlier this morning. Must have been from other people who had been here before us." Peeta muses.

"That's what I thought, I'm just so grateful we have something in which to cook our food!" Annie raves, then begins stirring the stew once more.

About five minutes later Gale shows up with Madge on his arm, looking a little pale but much better than before. We all greet them warmly and invite them to sit down on the logs that serve as benches.

"How are you feeling Madge?" I ask smiling and sit down beside her.

"Much better, thanks Katniss."

"I'm so glad."

"I heard that you were unconscious for a while as well."

I shrug, "Too much seawater in me and I was really tired, I'm perfectly fine now."

"That's good." She smiles, "Did you and Peeta make a shelter for yourselves yet?"

I nod, "That's what we've been working on most of the day since Peeta woke me up."

"Great! I can't wait to see it!" I promise to show her later and just then Annie announces dinner and begins dishing out bowls of the delicious smelling stew.

"I'm sorry it's only meat and water but hopefully it'll fill you all and maybe tomorrow we can go exploring and find some herbs and maybe even vegetables or something to add."

"It's wonderful Annie." Peeta says, digging right in.

"Thank you." Annie thanks him, smiling.

"Oh you saved the necklace I gave you!" She cries a few minutes later, looking at my neck. I finger the necklace and nod, "I'm so glad I put it in at the last minute."

"Me too." She replies happily.

"Soon after we are finished eating I help Annie wash the dishes in the sea then put them away for tomorrow.

"Thanks for dinner Annie, but we should get going." Gale says, helping Madge up from her seat.

"No problem, sleep well you two." They say goodbye then just the four of us are left.

"We should get back too." I say. "We need to be well rested if we want to go exploring tomorrow!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow!" I give Annie and Finn a friendly hug then lacing Peeta's fingers through mine we begin the short trek back to our temporary home. When we get inside Peeta pulls some of the branches in front of the open door way and we are left with only the light of the moon coming from the window.

I change into one of Peeta's t-shirts as my nightgown and he just sleeps without one. Draping the blanket over both of us he kisses my cheek, "Good Night Kat, sweet dreams." And with that I fall into a peaceful slumber.

_**What did you think?! Yay no cliffhanger! Hope you all liked this longer chapter, Sorry for any mistakes! Hopefully I'll be able to update again this week if I have time. **_

_**Until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	10. Discoveries-Chapter 10

_**Hey I'm back with an early chapter! And just in case you were wondering who the 100**__**th**__** reviewer was for the last chapter it was: FearlessWithHimJC! Thanks!**_

_**Thank you all for the reviews for the last chapter, I'm so glad you are enjoying this story **__** So I don't know if you noticed but I changed the picture for this story! I noticed that someone else had the same one as me so I decided to personalize a different one **__** I like it…**_

_**~aly-hungergames: Awe thanks, I just had to add a little romance in there **_

_**~Katniss72500: I don't know if I could do that! But I guess we'll see **__** Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~Amanda3U: Well I guess everything will be answered in time… Thank you for reviewing!**_

_**~tjtreader: I'll think about it, but it's a good idea! I'll see what I can do in the upcoming chapters **__** Thanks for the review!**_

_**~ClatoIsReal: I know! Gotta love it **__** Thanks for reviewing, glad you liked it!**_

_**~HGFan4719: Don't worry, I couldn't let any of them die ;) I guess you'll find out sometime soon **__** Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~TragedyIsTheyKey: Thanks! Well just to let you in on a little secret, they won't be rescued right away **__** Most of this story I'm guessing will take place on the island…**_

_**~FearlessWithHimJC: Yay for being the 100**__**th**__** reviewer! Thank you so much! Glad you like it!**_

_**So we only got 8 reviews this time so this chapter won't be as long as the other one but it won't be short either **__** I think we are at around 107 reviews so the next number we'll go for is who will be the 125**__**th**__** reviewer!**_

_**Thanks for reading, now let's get on to the story…**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**_

_**Chapter: 10~**_

"Good Morning sunshine." Groaning I open my eyes and for a moment I forget where I am. Then the events of yesterday come flooding back to me, being unconscious, the island, building our temporary shelter. Looking up I observe the branches for the roof over our heads and know that it wasn't all just a terrible dream, this is real.

"Morning." I reply to Peeta and slowly sit up, rubbing my neck.

Sleeping on the hard ground with only Peeta's chest as a pillow has left my neck and back quite stiff.

"How did you sleep?" He asks, taking me out of my thoughts.

"Pretty good considering the circumstances, although I'm a little stiff and sore."

"Well that's to be expected, don't worry, you'll get used to it." He assures me smiling.

"I sure hope so, I won't be much help hunting or exploring if I can hardly walk. How did you sleep?" Peeta yawns and sits up beside my, "I slept very well thank you."

"That's good. So what are we doing for breakfast?" I ask, standing up and going over to where my clothes are.

"I think Finnick and Annie found some kind of tropical fruits called mangos and we'll start with that for our meal then search for more." He replies.

"Great, I'm starved." I slip Peeta's t-shirt over my head and put on a pair of shorts and one of my tank tops. Then after slipping on my sandals I sit back down and wait for Peeta to get changed as well.

"What are we going to do about showers?" I ask. "I could use one."

"For now I guess we'll just use the sea water since it is quite clear and clean even though it is salt water. I heard that it is very cleansing for the skin."

"And what about soap and shampoo?" I persist.

"We'll just have to make do with what we have for now. Who knows, maybe we'll find something useful when we go exploring later this morning."

"I hope so." Five minutes later we are both dressed and ready and sticking my sunglasses on the top of my head we push the branches away from the doorway and step out into the fresh tropic air. I inhale the air and smells of the trees, sighing in contentment. Then after taking Peeta's hand we begin our short walk down the narrow, dirt path to the Odair's for breakfast.

We are both greeted warmly by the two couples who are already seated around a small crackling fire enjoying the morning air. Glancing down at the waterproof watch that I received for Christmas last year, it shows that it is only nine in the morning, leaving plenty of time to explore the small island.

"Morning Madge, how did you sleep?" I ask, sitting down next to my friend.

"Hello Katniss, I slept quite well on my bed of leaves." She replies with a smile. "How about you?"

"Well I'm a little sore since I'm not that used to sleeping on the hard ground but I am rested and ready for adventure!"

"Good, because we'll need your's and Gale's hunting skills to get us some meat for lunch and dinner." Finnick says.

"No problem." I reply, "But I'll kind of need a bow and some arrows."

"You know we might find one on our expedition later since we've already found proof that other people have lived here before us."

"That would be great." I say.

"I also made a small net from some of the grasses that I found a little bit down the beach so we can add fish to our menu."

"Yum, I can't wait." Madge says, licking her lips.

Annie then hands us each an oval shaped fruit that is sort of yellow, red and green on the outside.

"How do you eat it?" Madge asks.

"You need to peel the skin of then you eat the dark yellow stuff in the middle." Annie instructs us. Peeta and Gale each pull out a small knife and begin peeling the fruits. Once Peeta is finished he hands me the peeled one and I hand him the other one. He then slices off small pieces of the fruit for us to eat.

"It's delicious!" I say, savoring the sweet, juicy fruit.

"I know!" Annie grins, taking a big bite. "We have them every once in a while in District 4 and they are by far my favorite fruit ever."

"I agree." I reply, taking another bite. The mangos are quite large but sit in Peeta's hand easily and are just the right amount to make me full. Since there are no dishes we just gather all of the peels and deposit then in the compost pile a little ways away from the campsite.

"Should we head out and begin exploring this place?" Finnick asks, putting out the fire. We all nod, "We're going to have to find a source of fresh water before we get to dehydrated." I tell everyone and they nod once more in agreement.

"Well let's just hope we find a stream or well close by with good drinking water." Gale says. We all link hands with our spouses and begin by walking down the beach. Everyone takes off their shoes and carries them as we chase each other like children in the sand and let the waves lap up to our ankles.

Then when we are too tired to run anymore we continue strolling down the beach, close enough to the trees and keeping our eyes open for anything that could be useful to us.

For just a few minutes I let myself forget that we are stranded on a deserted island and enjoy the sights, the smells and leisurely walking down a golden beach with my best friends. I am brought back to reality only a moment later when Finnick calls us all over to where he is all the while waving wildly.

Peeta and I run the short distance through the sand over to where he and Annie sit crouched on the ground, looking for something. Madge and Gale join us a moment later.

"Did you find something?" I ask, panting a little as I settle down beside them.

"Yeah," Finnick replies, "It's a plastic water bottle." Annie picks it up and let's us examine it.

"And not that old either." Gale deducts.

"So if there is a bottle there must be water close by or at least on the island?" Peeta says, summing it up.

"That's right." Finnick smiles and stands up.

"Well what are we waiting for?" I get up as well and grab Peeta's hand, then all six of us start out at a brisk walk through a denser part of the jungle like forest, eyes and ears on the alert.

Gale and I automatically go into our 'hunter mode' and begin treading softly on the leaves, ears open for any kind of sound that could indicate our next meal or running water, both which are needful for our survival in this place.

I wonder how many people survived the sinking of the ship, I wonder how many of them knew how to swim, and how many died. Hate almost as strong for Snow builds up in me for the Captain, former brother of Snow, and Cato and Colette. They just killed hundreds of innocent people to revenge one man who killed thousands, I just don't get it.

"Stop!" I halt and turn around to Gale who was the one that called out.

"Gale what is it?" I ask curiously.

"Do you hear that?" I turn my ears, listening intently for any sign of what he could be talking about. Then I hear it; like the sound of the waterfall back home in the woods. Water cascading down a mountainside, it's the most beautiful I've ever laid eyes on.

"Yes!" I say grinning. "I hear it! It sounds like a waterfall!"

"That's what I thought." Gale replies grinning as well.

"Well let's go find that water and hope it's drinkable!" Finnick announces and we all begin walking in the direction of the sound; it gets louder with every step we take and I keep getting more and more excited to see it, to bathe, to drink because my mouth has gotten quite dry. Five minutes later the sound of the water is so loud that we have to yell to communicate with one another.

"We're really close!" Gale calls.

"I know!" I yell back. We soon arrive at a row of tall bushes, like a hedge. The guys pull them apart to reveal the most amazing waterfall, tumbling down a small mountain like pile of rocks. Smiling at each other we rip off our clothes so that we are in our swimsuits, leaving the discarded clothing and shoes in a heap on the ground before we jump into the clear blue pool at the bottom of the waterfall. It's not freezing cold like I expected but comfortable warm and cool at the same time. I swing around when I hear Annie let out a scream but calm down when I see that Finnick had crept up behind her. I laugh along with Madge who is beside me and we watch the show.

Just then Madge screams and begins splashing in the water and kicking her legs. I'm about to help when Gale pops up from underneath right directly in front of her face, placing a wet kiss on her lips.

"I am so going to get you for that!" She squeals like a little girl and jumps onto his back. I smile as I watch the two couples splash around like kids, Annie on Finnick's shoulders and Madge on Gale's while the two girls each try to push the other off her husband's shoulders. Then I realize that I haven't seen Peeta. I begin searching all around, then I see his clothes also on the grass so I know that he is in the water somewhere. I decide not to worry about it and I am just about to swim over to the others when something with an iron grip grabs onto my ankles and locks me into place. I don't scream but begin kicking and struggling, eventually the culprit comes up, gasping for air.

"Peeta! I was worried about you!" I scold him. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry." He looks at me guiltily then grins and picks me up, setting me on his shoulders like the other girls.

"Let's go join the fun." He says and begins walking slowly through the water that comes just past his bare chest. Where the others are the water is shallower and easier for the guys to move around in. Madge is already in the water, having lost the fight between her and Annie so Peeta and I step in.

"You are so going down Odair." I smirk and hold on to Peeta tightly with my knees and he grabs onto my thighs, holding me firmly.

"I don't know about that Mellark." Annie grins and they move in. I make the first move and lean a little forward to try and push Annie, that obviously was a mistake because it made me be off balance and Annie got the upper hand giving my side a shove causing me to almost fall off. But Peeta held on to me while I regained my balance so I didn't fall. Smirking at Annie then Finnick I grab Annie's arm and yank her towards me. She falls forward but Finnick catches her and pulls her back.

"Oh it's on!" Annie smiles wickedly and lunges forward but this time I'm ready for her. I move to the side and she ends up falling headfirst into the water. Peeta sets me down and we high five in victory.

"We'll get you next time!" Finnick says, laughing.

"Sure."

"Should we continue with our explorations?" Gale asks.

"Yeah, we probably should, and we need some food, that fruit is starting to wear off." Finnick says and we all make our way back to dry land.

"I brought a few empty water bottles so we can fill them up to drink and we'll just have to come back later."

"Great." I say and begin slipping my shorts and sandals back on and just carry my shirt for now until my bathing suit top dries.

We leave our new favorite place on the island and begin our trek once more. Gale had made a few snares the night before so he set them along the sides of the trail that we are in the process of making so that we'll be able to find our way back to the waterfall easily.

"This isn't so bad, is it?" Peeta asks, holding my hand as we walk side by side behind Madge and Gale and in front of Finn and Annie.

"Not at all." I smile up at him. "I really think that we should come back to the pool one evening in the dark, just the two of us."

"Sounds like a date." He chuckles. "But I'd love to."

"Perfect."

We then continue walking in silence, once again keeping on the alert for any signs of game or enemies or useful things. We don't find anything in the next hour or so of walking although I do get a good load of leaves and herbs that Gale helped me locate along the path. Maybe now we'll have a more flavorful stew than meat and boiled saltwater.

"Hey! What's that up ahead?" We all immediately look to where Finnick is pointing and sure enough some kind of a shelter, much like ours but better built is hidden in amongst a group of trees about 10 yards ahead of us.

"Let's check it out." Gale says, leading the way. We quickly follow and a minute later we are standing in front of the shelter.

"Do you think anyone still lives here?" Madge asks quietly.

"No, I doubt it." Gale assures her. "Nobody has been in this area in quite a while, notice how everything is grown over."

"So, who's going in first?" Annie asks, looking to each person.

"I volunteer!" I reply, raising my hand. "I'll go with her." Gale also volunteers before Peeta can say anything.

"Good." Finnick says. "We'll wait for you here." Gale and I walk forward and push open the small door on the small lodging

I hold in a scream as a small mouse bounds out of the door as soon as we open it. Taking a deep breath Gale steps inside with me following closely behind. It is quite spacious and mostly empty. A pile of dried leaves which were probably used for a bed is in the corner and an old wooden chest sits covered in a layer of dust in another corner.

"Let's check out the chest over there." I say, pointing to it.

"Good job Catnip, there good be helpful things in there from the last people that stayed here."

We hurry over to it and I blow off some of the dust off the top, coughing at the same time. Gale tries to lift off the top but it doesn't budge, then we both notice the lock on it at the same time.

"Let's take it outside since it's the only thing in here and maybe Finnick and Peeta can help us get it opened."

"Good idea." Helping him lift it the two of us shuffle outside and set it down in front of the others.

"There's nothing else in there?" Finn asks. We shake our heads. "Well we can take it back to camp and hopefully I can find something to open it with." We find two little handles on each side so two by two we take turns carrying it back to camp. We get back about half an hour later because we walk quickly and collapse at the Odair's for more mangos and fresh water.

"Well let's see what's inside shall we?"

_**Yeah I know, bad place to end but once again I made this chapter over 1000 words than I was going to according to the number of reviews I got **__** oops. I hope you liked it and in the next one we'll find out what is in the chest! Stay tuned! Thanks for reading and as always don't forget to leave a review!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	11. The Chest-Chapter 11

_**Bonjour! Hi guys! I'm back! Okay so I was thinking because I haven't really stuck with the reviews/words of the chapter thing I put up at the beginning that I'm going to change it so we'll have longer chapters **___

_**5+ reviews: 2000 words; 10+ reviews: 2500w; 15+ reviews: 3500. How is that? Better? I think so. Well we got 13 reviews for the last chapter!Yay thanks so much! So this chapter will be approximately 3000 words or so, I guess we'll see **____** Anyway, it'll be more than 2500 and less than 3500. K? **_

_**Thanks again and I'll leave the replies to reviews for the end of the chapter this time. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. **_

_Last time: _

_We get back half and hour later because we walk quickly, and collapse at the Odair's for mangos and fresh water._

"_Well let's see what's inside shall we?"_

"What are you going to open it with?" Madge asks as we all gather around the chest.

"This!" Finnick replies, holding up a large, heavy rock.

"A rock?" Annie looks unconvinced.

"Yes dear, a rock." Finnick says and lifts the small boulder up in the air to bring it crashing down on the lock. We all cover our ears when the rock comes in contact with the metal, making an unpleasant sound for our ears. Finnick sets the rock down and inspects the metal lock.

"Well?" Peeta asks for all of us.

Finnick shakes his head; "It sort of cracked but not enough for us to get it open."

"Here, let me try." Gale says, moving closer and picking up the rock. We all cover our ears once more as he smashes the lock, making Finnick look like a girl trying to open a jar. "All done." Gale smirks and wipes his hands on his pants.

"So, who will do the honors?" Peeta asks.

"How about Gale and Katniss, since they are the two that actually found it." Annie suggests.

"Catnip is the one that found it, I just helped carry it out." Gale explains.

"I guess that settles it, Katniss." I shrug and come down on my knees in front of the chest. Brushing the last remains of the lock away I push the lid up, wincing as it groans and creaks on its way up.

"What's inside?" Madge asks excitedly.

"Hold on." I tell them then after lifting the lid all the way up everyone gathers around me and the chest.

An old army blanket covers the top, sporting a thick layer of dust. "Well more blankets are always appreciated." Annie says, lifting the dark blue material up and shaking out the dust. "All we have to do in give it a good scrubbing in the salt water then in fresh water and it'll be as good as new."

"Great." I reply with a small smile and continue to reach inside and retrieve the contents of the chest and one by one set them on the ground for all to inspect.

Second I pull out an old book, also covered in dust, and handing it to Peeta he brushes the dust off the top and opens it up.

"It seems to be a ships log of some kind, from quite a long time ago." He explains and continues to flip through the worn, yellow pages. "And there are a lot of names on the pages as well, probably the passengers of a ship."

"Maybe the captain of that ship was stranded on this island for a while and left the chest here when he was rescued, or died." Finnick ends in a quieter tone.

"Died?" Madge shrieks and Gale puts an arm around her shoulders, "Don't worry honey, we're not going to die here, I promise."

"But how do you know?"

"I just know okay, trust me." Madge quiets down after that and we continue looking through the contents of the chest while Peeta tries to decipher the writings and names in the captain's log book.

The next thing that my hands find is a small pouch of coins. Passing it to Finnick he in turn carefully dumps the contents into his lap. Sure enough about a silver and bronze-colored coins with pictures on them fall out.

"They look to be some sort of old currency." He says, bringing a small coin up close to his eye for a better look. "And it has a picture of a man on the front and there are words along the top."

"What do they say?" Annie asks impatiently.

"It says: 'In God We Trust.'" Finnick replies, reading the words out loud for all to hear. "And on the back there is a picture of a building with many columns and the words: 'ONE CENT' are printed along the bottom and at the top it says: 'United States of America', is that a place?"

We all shrug, not sure what to make of the coins until Madge stands up quickly.

"I've read about America in one of my books back home that we found after the rebellion! And apparently we live in a small part of America but we all grew up knowing nothing about the countries around us. I don't know where the United States is but I've read about it, and a little about their money as well."

"Wow." I breathe as I take it all in. "I never knew."

"None of us did." Gale replies, pulling his wife back down beside him.

"Wouldn't it be amazing to visit this place, to see how other people live and all that." Finnick exclaims.

"It would." Annie agrees smiling.

"Okay, we can study these more later." I say. "Let's see what else is in here before it gets too late."

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry." Peeta says frowning and rubbing his tummy.

"You know what, how about I go and check my traps and hopefully we can have some stew tonight for dinner." Gale suggests.

"But you'll miss all the excitement!" I protest.

"It's fine, I'll check it all out later. But unless you all want to go to bed hungry tonight I'm going. Besides, it won't take long at all."

"And I'm coming with you." Madge states confidently, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her pants.

"I don't know Madge." Gale starts.

"I've done it before and I can be almost as quiet as you, come on please? I need the practice and you promised you'd teach me!"

Gale of course can't resist her and relents, "Okay, but only this once, come on."

Grinning with victory Madge takes his hand and together the two of them walk out into the woods.

"Let's get on with it." Peeta says impatiently, setting the book down and scooting closer to the chest.

We go through the rest of it rather quickly, wanting to save the real inspecting for when Madge and Gale return. We find another army blanker towards the middle of the chest exactly like the first and Annie places it on top of the other to be washed later. Two golden colored wine goblets also are extracted from the chest and placed with the other dishes. Finnick pulls out another book and hands it to Peeta to check out, then comes, wrapped in a strip of leather, a foot long dagger, the hilt incrusted with different special gems and tiny stones.

"It's beautiful." Annie whispers.

"Yeah and I'm sure it'll make skinning fish a lot easier than what I've been using." Finnick jokes.

Getting close to the bottom of the quite spacious chest I pull out another something all wrapped up. My breath hitches when I realize what exactly it is. Unwrapping it from the old fabric I examine the small bow, it looks like it and the dagger came as a set because they are both beautifully made, handcrafted with intricate designs all along the length of the bow and even the arrows are amazing to look at.

"Looks like we're going to be eating good from now on." I say smiling, cradling my newest treasure.

"May I see it?" Peeta asks and I hand it over to him then continue digging towards the bottom of the chest. We find an old coat that probably belonged to the captain himself rolled up at the bottom and also a women's dress.

"We can use those for fabric." Annie suggests, taking them from me and going over the material.

"Is there anything else?" Peeta asks, handing my bow and small quiver of foot-long arrows back to me.

"Yes, one more thing." I reply.

"What is it?" Annie asks, peering over my shoulder.

"Looks just like another blanket." I say, taking it out and handing it to her.

"Yes, it appears so." She remarks, and standing up begins to shake it out like the others but this time a piece of folded up paper falls out and Finnick quickly retrieves it off of the ground.

"Does it say anything interesting?" I ask him.

Finnick unfolds the old and worn sheet of paper and spreads it out on his lap.

"Well?" Annie starts, looking at him curiously.

"It-it's a map of some sort." Finnick replies.

"Like a treasure map?" Peeta proposes.

"Maybe, I'm not sure. We can study it more later but for now while Gale is out catching the animals for our stew I'm going to see if I can catch a few fish to fry along with it. Coming Annie?" Annie nods and stands up. "Sure, let's go. And Katniss, you can take the chest back with you."

"Are you sure?" I hesitate.

"Yes! It's yours." Annie insists.

"Thanks Annie." I smile and Peeta and I watch the two of them walk across the beach and into the water part way where they lower the net Finnick constructed and wait for the fish.

"Want to bring this stuff back to our place?" Peeta asks.

"Sure." I reply and begin placing the things that we will be taking with us back into the chest. The bow and arrows and the logbook for Peeta to look at leaving the blankets for Annie to wash before bringing them back to our bed. Then we leave the dagger, map, and the coins at the Odair's for us to look at later and set aside a blanket for Madge and Gale along with the second book for Madge to look at. Then after closing the lid Peeta and I each grab one of the handles and lift the chest off the ground and bring it the short distance to our temporary home.

We set the chest along one of the walls and then I take out my weapon and place it in the little box that we made and in turn put our clothes and belongings into the chest.

"There, that's better." I sigh contentedly and sit down on our one blanket.

"Are you tired?" Peeta asks quietly, settling down beside me.

"Yeah, a little, it's been a long day." I reply, resting my wearing head on his shoulder and he automatically wraps his arms around me, pulling me close.

"It sure has, and an exciting day as well."

"I can't wait to get back to the pool and water fall." I murmur.

"Soon, we'll do it very soon." Peeta assures me softly.

"Do you miss home?" I ask all of a sudden a few moments later. Peeta sighs and looks off into the distance, "I don't know, I guess I miss our house and real bed but my home will always be where you are Kat." He leans down and plants a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Me too." I answer and reach up to give him a real kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." He whispers and kisses me again.

"I could really do this all evening but my stomach has other ideas and needs to be fed. Want to see if Annie could use some help with dinner?" I ask.

"Good idea, let's go." He stands up first then pulls me up as well. We walk silently to Finnick and Annie's home where we find Annie sitting alone over a pot of boiling water and sorting through the herbs we collected earlier. Finnick is still visible a little ways away in the water.

"Hey Annie! Can we help with anything?" I greet her.

"Sure, that'd be great. I could use some help with identifying some of these plants and what would go good with our stew."

"I'd be glad to." I reply with a smile and sit down on the log beside her and begin sorting through the different familiar plants and herbs. Before long Madge and Gale arrive with their game all skinned and ready to be cooked: a squirrel, and a plump rabbit, enough for dinner along with Finnick's fish, if he catches any.

But none of us are surprised when just a few minutes later Finnick comes walking up the beach, a string of half a dozen large fish strung and dangling from his arm.

We each take a large pointy stick and stab the fish on it then proceed to cook it over the open fire.

"I've never eaten fish like this before." I say while rotating my stick slowly over the bright orange coals.

"We used to all the time when we were younger, before the rebellion and all that." Finnick informs us while expertly cooking his fish then when it is all finished he shows us how to slice it down the middle and pull out the backbone then eat the meat around it. Even without salt and other spices I do have to admit that the fish is quite delicious. The stew is equally as flavorful and we all congratulate Gale on his hunting skills.

"Oh Gale!" I say excitedly between bites of fried fish. "What is it Catnip?" He asks curiously.

"You won't believe what I found in the chest after you left!"

"What?"

"Bow and arrows." I reply proudly.

"How in the world did it fit in that chest?"

"Well the arrows were only about a foot long and the bow itself barely fit but now I can help you hunt!"

"Great, it'll be like old times when we were kids in District 12." He grins and takes a bit of fish.

"That's what I thought too." I reply with a smile. We all finish the stew and fish, dumping the remains a little ways off then we share the last three mangos for dessert.

"We'll have to get more of these and fresh water tomorrow when we explore more of the island." Finnick declares while peeling the delicious, juicy fruit.

"I agree." Gale says. "Maybe we can have Peeta, Madge and Annie do that tomorrow while you fish and Catnip and I hunt."

"Sounds like a plan." Peeta agrees. "You'll just have to point us in the right direction."

"I know where the trees are." Annie tells him.

"Okay, well that's settled. I think that Katniss and I are going to head back now, we're both really tired."

"Same here." Gale replies yawning.

"Here I washed the blankets earlier and they are dried now since I've had them drying here by the fire." Annie says handing us a blanket and one to Madge and Gale as well.

"See you in the morning." I give Madge and Annie each a hug then we part ways.

"Good Night!" Annie calls after us.

Once Peeta and I are inside our shelter I help him pull the branches in front of the door, leaving the window as the only open part for air. I spread our new blanket down over top the other so that we sort of have a two-person sleeping bag now. I slip into Peeta's t-shirt again like last night; it comes about mid thigh and makes a good nightgown. After letting my hair out of its braid I climb in beside him pull the second blanket over both of us.

"Good Night Peeta." I whisper, cuddling up to him.

"Night Kat." He murmurs into my hair, wrapping his arms around me, entrapping my body in a sort of warm cocoon. I could sleep anywhere if he is beside me so once again I fall almost instantly asleep, lost in a whirlwind of strange dreams.

_**So yeah it didn't get as long as I thought it would but if I wrote the next day as well it would've gotten too long and I didn't want to end on a cliffhanger again, your welcome **____** I hope you liked it!**_

_**~Treblegirl77: Thank you so much! Glad you like it!**_

_**~Jessy0622: Hope you weren't too disappointed with the contents of the chest! Thanks for reviewing as always!**_

_**~Tjtreader: Thanks, me too ;) Yeah I'm workin on it, I can add the little bit here and there but maybe I can do a whole chapter on them just for you **____**Thanks for reading and reviewing!**_

_**~FearlesswithHimJC: Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! Hope you liked it and thanks for being such a consistent reviewer!**_

_**~Canadianboy98: Were any of your guesses right? Thanks, glad you liked it!**_

_**~Celia215: Yeah, thanks! I wanted something that no one else had ever written before **____** Yeah I guess we'll find out later on but I'll tell you that they will be coming up sometime in the future since we kind of have to find out what exactly happened to them **____** But for now it'll just be my favorite couples! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**_

_**~Amanda3U: Awe thanks! That means a lot! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

_**~Katniss72500: Well you can't have them stranded on an island without finding a treasure chest right?! haha. Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoyed this update too!**_

_**~HGFan4719: THNK YOU **____** I really appreciate that you update every single chapter, for both my stories **_____

_**~Sabi1994: Well you found out finally! Well I guess some of your questions as to who was on the island before them were answered but not all, for now… **____** I really like POC too, but no not turtles, lol. Thanks again for the long review and I'll be waiting for the next one! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**_

_**~TRagedyIsThe Key: Yeah, I love mysteries! Thanks! That's kind of the idea, glad you think so. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~Dancinghld: Hope you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~Phillippa: Don't worry, NONE OF THEM WILL DIE! Was that clear enough? Haha **____** What did you think of the things in the chest?! Thanks for reviewing! And for being the first reviewer for the last chapter!**_

_**Thanks again guys! Your encouraging reviews really make my day and help with writing **____** Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave a review before you go!**_

_**Chao! **_

_**~FirePearl **_


	12. Monkeys, Snakes, and Kisses-Chapter 12

_**Holá! I am back! Sorry it has been quite a few days but that's life **____** I got 12 reviews for the last chapter so we get a longer chapter today! Yay! Hope you all are doing well and thank you so much for the wonderful reviews **___

_**Well I don't really have anything more to say, I'll reply to the reviews at the end ;) Hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, only my own ideas.**_

_**Chapter 12…**_

After a quick and meager breakfast the next morning I take my treasured bow and arrows and follow my hunting partner into the denser part of the forest, leaving Finnick to fish and Peeta and the girls to bring back mangos. I would have liked to take Peeta with me but I know from experience that he is not a good person to have beside you if you are trying to hunt.

For the next few hours it feels like we are ten years younger, just two best friends hunting to support our fatherless families.

"I wonder what kind of game we'll find here since it's a different environment than back home." Gale muses as we walk quietly and carefully side by side, weapons at the ready.

Yeah, I'm not sure," I reply, "But as long as we can eat it then I don't care what kind of animals are on this island." Gale chuckles and for the next little while we are silent, not needing to speak but communicating in other ways. We decide to check his few snares for any unlucky animal that happened to get caught, bring them back to camp then head back out again with the bow. We only have one bow but Gale has a knife so we make do with what we have. The first snare that we come to is empty but has a tuft of fur stuck to it, "Must have gotten away." Gale says quietly, checking it then resetting it before moving on to the next one.

The second snare has a brown rabbit that Gale quickly throws into his bag and we move on. The third is also empty so instead of going back to camp with only one small rabbit we continue on our hunt. All of a sudden the forest seems to change, the trees are different and I am pretty sure we haven't been to this part of the forest yet.

"Does any of this look familiar to you?" I ask. Gale shakes his head, "Nope, you?"

"No, I don't think we've explored this part of the island yet." I say, glancing up at the strange looking trees.

"Yeah I guess not. Well do you want to keep going?"

"Sure, maybe we can find some useful things or different animals." I say.

"That would be nice." We continue on our way, admiring the huge leaves of certain trees, the palm trees and everything that is new to us.

Suddenly a strange high-pitched scream emits from the trees above and I absentmindedly move closer to Gale.

"I don't think that was human." I murmur and he nods in agreement. "I wonder what it was." Gale shrugs, "I have no idea." We stand still for a few minutes but we don't hear the noise again so we just continue on our way as if nothing had happened. As I glance back up in to the trees I notice a brown form swinging from branch to branch with two legs and two arms. Then the creature screams like before and I quickly point upward for Gale to see.

Then my friend begins to laugh heartily and I just stand there, dumbfounded. When he regains his composure once more he speaks, "It's a harmless monkey!"

"What's a monkey?" I ask, still slightly confused.

"I heard about them once from someone and then in one of Posy's picture books that she recently got I saw one there." He explains.

"Really? And they are harmless?"

"I think so, they'll only attack if they feel threatened."

"Okay good." I sigh with relief, "Shall we continue?" Gale nods and we resume our hunting through the forest.

"Wait!" I stop and look at Gale who has stopped a few feet behind me.

"What is it?"

"If there are monkeys around here then there could very well be a banana tree, or many trees!" He exclaims excitedly.

"Wow! I've only had a banana once when we were in District 10 last year."

"Let's begin looking around the area at the same time while searching for animals." Gale suggests.

"Good idea." And once again we keep trekking through the dense foliage around us. In the next few minutes or so we don't come across any more monkeys, animals to shoot or banana trees. I am already getting hungry and am about to suggest that we head back when Gale halts abruptly in front of me and I collide into his back.

"Gale! What in the world are you stopping for?" I ask, somewhat annoyed, but I find out why he stopped a few seconds later when I come to stand beside him.

About a dozen trees loaded with yellow fruit is what made him halt. My mouth hangs open and for a second neither of us moves. Gale is the first one to come out of the trance and, grabbing my arm gently he pulls me along towards the nearest tree.

"Come on! Let's see how many we can fit in the backpack, then we'll need to mark our trail so that we can come back when we need to." Gale says and begins pulling the bunches of bright yellow bananas off of the branches and after extracting the rabbit, places them in the backpack. When the pack is almost overflowing and I can barely lift it, Gale slings it over his shoulder and hands me the rabbit to carry. Then we pick two bananas each and quickly peel them, eating it in only three bites.

We then begin making our way back to camp, me in front marking off our trail and Gale behind carrying the bananas. It doesn't take us nearly as long to get back this time since we aren't stopping every few minutes but before we get arrive at the Odair's and just before we exit the strange forest an odd hissing sound reaches our ears and once again we stop, looking around us, searching for the source of the noise. The hissing continues but neither of sees anything so we just keep on walking quietly. We are under a large tree with huge branches when I look up and see the biggest snake I've ever seen.

Part of its body is coiled around one of the branches but the head end is dangling directly above my head, a dark, red tongue slithering in and out of its mouth. A shriek emits from my mouth and Gale looks up as well.

"Catnip I want you to walk very slowly backwards." He instructs. I obey and very gently begin stepping back, away from the huge snake. Its body is probably as big around as my thigh and it is at least 8-10 feet long. After a few more steps I am out of harms way, or so I hope. Gale is behind me and still has to get by the intimidating creature, who so far hasn't seemed to notice us yet.

Gale carefully slides the backpack off of his back and throws it to me. I catch it and set it on the ground along with the rabbit, my eyes never leaving the snake. Gale begins taking slow steps in my direction, trying not to draw any more attention to himself. It seems to be working and Gale is almost clear of the deadly looking snake when it opens its mouth, so wide I could fit my fist inside with room to spare, revealing sharp pointy fangs, dripping with poisonous venom. The color drains from Gale's tanned face and he stops moving. "Catnip, get out of here." He whispers, never taking his eyes off the snake.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not leaving you here to get eaten by an enormous snake!" I hiss back. "Madge would kill me!"

"Just go." He strains, still unmoving. I am just about to take him up on his offer to leave when I notice a long and thick stick a few feet away, then I get an idea. Scurrying over quietly I pick it up and pointing it up at the snake I give it a strong jab on its scaly body. It immediately turns its attention to me and off of Gale. I motion for my friend to get away while I have it temporarily distracted. He gets the idea and hurries over to me, unsheathing his dagger.

"Why didn't you think of that before?" I ask, a little annoyed.

"I didn't really want that thing biting my head of before I got a chance to kill it." He replies. "And what about your bow and arrows?"

"Oops, I kind of forgot about that too." I hand Gale the stick and reach down for my bow and quiver of 12 arrows. Just when I am about to loose the arrow into the snake's ugly head it rears back then comes straight for Gale's head. Gale stumbles out of the way, just in time, while at the same time I lodge one of my arrows in to the side of the snake. It backs away but the small wound only seems to anger it more.

"I need you to distract it away from me." Gale instructs.

"What?!"

"Just do it! I have a plan." I trust him so I do what he says, picking up the stick and luring the snake away from Gale. Then Gale takes his dagger and coming too close to the snake for comfort slices its head clean of. I watch the brownish red head fall to the ground by our feet, relief flooding through my body.

"We're alive!" I exclaim, giving Gale a quick hug.

"Yeah, hopefully there aren't anymore of those around here."

"What was it anyway?"

"It was a Boa Constrictor, they live in jungles and rain forests I think, like this place." Gale informs me. "They are also nocturnal but I think we woke this guy up, that's why he didn't see us right away."

"Wow, well let's get out of here." I say, reaching for the rabbit and my weapons and Gale slings the heavy backpack full of bananas over his shoulders and we continue on our way.

"Boy will we have stories to tell." He says to himself. I nod, "We sure will, if we ever live to tell them." I add quietly.

It only take us about 10 minutes of normal walking to get back to camp. We arrive to find Finnick stringing the fish on a string in the _kitchen_, and Peeta with the girls sitting around together next to a large pile of colorful mangos.

"Hey! You're back!" Peeta grins and stands to greet us. He gives me a kiss and takes the rabbit from me.

"Not much game to shoot?" Finnick asks, gesturing to the single rabbit. I nod, "Yeah we didn't have time for anything else, this one was found in one of Gale's snares, the others were empty."

"Well what took you so long then?" Madge asks eyeing Gale suspiciously. Gale grins in return and sets the overflowing backpack for them all to see.

"You found bananas!" Annie shrieks and immediately grabs one, peeling it happily. "Where?" Peeta asks.

"A little ways that way," I reply, pointing in the general direction from where we had come, "But we had to go through a jungle first where we saw monkeys and got attacked by snakes."

"Snakes?!" Peeta exclaims.

"Okay it was only one, but it was huge!"

"Are you okay?" He asks, and begins checking me over. I chuckle and nod, "Yeah we're fine, we killed it if any of you want to check it out. It's about ten minutes away."

"I'm fine." Madge replies and goes to stand next to her husband, giving his hand a squeeze.

"Well it looks as though you three were quite successful." I say, gesturing to the pile of mangos.

"Yeah!" Annie grins, throwing her banana peel away, "The trees aren't too far away and they are still loaded with mangos!"

"Great!" Gale replies, and along with the bananas we have quite a bit of fruit!"

"Is anybody hungry?" Finnick inquires just then. Everyone raises their hands in answer, "I'm starved!" Peeta says, rubbing his stomach with a pathetic look on his face.

"Good, because I caught a lot of fresh fish that need to get eaten before they go bad." Finnick replies, pointing to the string of at least 8 medium sized fish.

"Well let's begin cooking them before Peeta dies of starvation." Annie jokes and cleans off a knife. All together there are four knives, the three guys each receive one for cleaning and gutting the fish and Finnick hands me the last one for the rabbit.

"Oh thanks, give the messiest job to the girl." I say jokingly.

"You're the most experienced with cleaning the kinds of animals." Finnick tells me.

"Hey! What about me?" Gale fakes hurt, but a smile is tugging at the sides of his mouth at the same time.

"I need your help with the fish!" Finnick cries, exasperated.

"Oh whatever." I say, shrugging and reach for the rabbit. Sitting a little further from everyone else I begin skinning and gutting the little plump rabbit, a little grossed out from the blood but happy nonetheless at doing something that I feel so comfortable and familiar with.

Twenty minutes later the rabbit is all ready to be cooked and I give it to Annie who in turn places it in the iron pot with some water to be cooked into stew for dinner. The fish are already finished when I return and grabbing a nearby stick I stab the chunk of meat and hold it over the small fire, slowly rotating it.

"So, what are the plans for the rest of the day?" Madge asks in between bites of fish.

Finnick shrugs, "I don't think we have any set plans so I guess everyone can just do what ever they want to do and we'll meet back here in a few hours for dinner."

"Sounds good." Gale says, wiping his mouth and growing mustache in need of a shave. "I think Madge and I will head back in a few minutes to our place, she's tired and I think I could use a small nap as well."

"Okay, well Annie and I were thinking about going swimming and maybe going around the island if we can and just checking things out."

"That sounds nice." Madge smiles.

"Kat, what would you like to do?" Peeta asks me.

"I don't know, I'd really like to go back to the waterfall." I reply quietly.

"My thoughts exactly." He says with a smile. After we finish our late lunch I help Madge and Annie quickly clean up then after we say goodbye to Gale and Madge, Peeta and I also head back to our little home/room.

Setting my bow and arrows in the box we change into our swimsuits and I slip a sundress over top. The sun is shining brightly above us with only a few wispy clouds on the vast stretch of blue sky.

"Ready?" Peeta asks, sticking his sunglasses on top of his head.

"Yes, let's go." I answer with a smile. Intertwining our hands together we begin the short trek to the waterfall. Before I know it we are already at the bushes which I help Peeta move to the side, revealing the cascading waterfall.

"How about we go down that way a bit where we can actually hear each other talk!" Peeta suggests quite loudly. Instead of talking I just nod and follow him further away from the loud waterfall. We find a small pool of water where it is a little quieter, "It's perfect." I say and slide out of my sundress, stepping tentatively into the warmish water. Peeta takes his shirt off and follows me in.

"Ah," He sighs, settling farther into the comforting water that now reaches his bare chest.

"Nice isn't it?" I say, standing beside him.

"Wonderful." He breathes, leaning closer and closer to me until our noses are almost touching, then just when I am closing my eyes for the expected kiss I feel hands on my waist, then fingers that begin tickling the exposed skin on my tummy. My eyes fly open to find Peeta laughing at me. A squeal escapes my lips as he continues to tickle my sides.

"You are so dead!" I shriek and splash water in his face that temporarily stops the tickling, but not for long. "Peeta splashes more water in my face then, holding me tightly with one arm around my waist he starts tickling me again until my eyes are watering from giggling so hard.

"S-stop! P-please s-stop!" I get out between fits of laughter.

"Fine, only because you said please." Peeta says and stops torturing me with his fingers in my sides where he knows I am the most ticklish.

"T-thank you." I say, breathing heavily.

"Sure, now come, let's swim over to that rock." He says, pointing to a wide walk protruding from the water just a short ways away.

"Okay, let's go."

I follow Peeta to the rock, staying a short distance behind him because I am so tired from laughing.

When we get to the rock Peeta climbs up then helps me as well. Together we sit down side by side on the edge of the boulder, dangling our legs in the clear water.

"I have to say that even though this isn't the honeymoon that I imagined, it's still pretty nice isn't it?" Peeta says with a smile as he wraps his arm around my wet shoulders, drawing me nearer to him.

"Romantic too." I whisper.

"Very." This time he leans down I place both of my hands on either side of his face so that he can't move away and our lips come together.

"You know, I'll never tire of kissing you." Peeta says quietly once we pull away.

I grin and say, "That's good to know." Then I pull him back down to me, kissing him with all the love I have inside of me for him and he with the same passion and love.

"I love you, so much." He breathes, his lips by my ear.

"I love you too." I reply, "And I can't believe how long it took for me to realize it."

Peeta wraps both of his arms around my lower back, "You weren't ready for love yet, which is totally understandable. I still can't believe you're mine."

"Well believe it." I say and kiss him again, then lay my head on his shoulder, just watching the water ripple by my feet.

"Kat look!" Peeta points to the water excitedly. I look to where he is pointing and just see the tiny minnows swimming in a group past our legs.

"Oh they're so tiny!" I smile and swish my fingers along in the water.

"Yeah."

"Peeta?"

"Yes Kat?"

"Let's come here every day."

"Just you and me?"

"Yes, just you and me. It can be our special spot where we can come to be alone, and talk." I reply.

"Sounds perfectly perfect."

_**So what did you think? A little action and a little romance all in one chapter **_____

_**Stealthy 1: haha thanks, what's a deserted island without a treasure chest?! Lol. Yeah but they had already made shelters that are close to the sea so they didn't need to move to that place, if that makes sense. Thanks for the review!**_

_**Phillipa: Yeah ikr?! Well I'm not sure about that part, just that they were the captains and not used as weapons but sort of like prized possessions. Yeah I guess I could try that, it's just that writing in Katniss's POV is easiest for me and if I try in someone elses I always end up changes back without thinking **___

_**Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Jessy0622: That's good to know ;) Thanks so much once again!**_

_**Anonymous: Why thank you very much **____** That really means a lot to a writer!**_

_**Treblegirl77: Awe thanks! I'm, so glad! That's good, on a couple other stories that I am reading the authors do that and I thought it was a cool idea **____** It makes it feel that I have relationships with my readers! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**TragedyIsTheKey: Haha yeah I guess so **____** Sure no problem, I think I might've written something about their ages at the beginning but it might not have been clear. So Katniss and Peeta are both 20, Gale is 22 and Madge is 21. Since Finn and Annie were already married in my other story I'm making them around middle twenties, I don't think I had that written in the story so probably around 25-26 or so. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**HGFan4719: Thank you! Yeah I just had to do that **____** Well I don't know exactly when they will make their appearance so I guess we'll see. Hope this was a more exciting chapter for ya ;) Thanks for the constant reviews!**_

_**Katniss72500: Oh I'm glad! Thanks! Yeah we'll find out about the map probably in the next chapter or so **____** Thanks again for the reviews!**_

_**MandaMay1324: Haha I always mess up when I type your pen name and end up writing 1234 instead of 1324 **____** lol. Thanks! Yeah I just had to give her a bow, hope you liked this one too! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Tjtreader: Sorry there wasn't really any Gadge in this chapter! It was more a Gale/Katniss as best friends and then Peeta/Katniss. I'll try and add some in the next one **____** Thanks for the reviews!**_

_**FearlesswithHimJC: Oh thanks **____**Yeah they sure do…Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Well with the reviews this chapter is over the limit but you only had to read the response to your own review **___

_**Thanks again so much! Until next time!**_

_**Adios! ~FirePearl**_


	13. Annie's Big News-Chapter 13

_**Hello! I'm back with another chapter! I hope you all are doing well. Sorry its been a little while since I updated but I'm working on two stories at the same time so…Yeah. Thank you for the wonderful reviews for the last chapter, I'm so glad you all enjoyed it. Sadly we only got 8 reviews so this chapter won't be as long **____** Sad I know! But thank you anyways for those of you who did review.**_

_**So we are at 143 reviews total for this story! That's so cool! Let's get up to 150 this time and we'll see who will be the 150**__**th**__** reviewer!**_

_**I hope you enjoy this one, and thanks to FearlesswithHimJC, for giving me the idea **____** Half of this chapter is especially for tjtreader, a little bit of Gadge **___

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games**_

_**Annie's Big News-Chapter 13**_

We stayed out by the waterfall longer than planned, just chatting, swimming and kissing. It was probably around midnight or so by the time I checked my watch and we decided to head back. I was so tired that Peeta had to carry me most of the way back to camp, then after slipping his t-shirt over my head and covering me with the blanket he drew me into his arms and that is how we stayed until morning.

"Morning sleeping beauty."

I groan and pull the blanket up over my eyes, willing the voice to hush so that I can go back to sleep.

"It's almost lunch time." The voice whispers near my ear. _I don't care!_ I think to myself._ I'm not read to get up yet!_

"I'm hungry." The voice says in a whiny tone.

Groaning again I roll over and pull the blanket tighter around me.

"Well I guess I'll go eat alone." Peeta concludes defeated. "I heard that Annie has some kind of big news to tell everyone and she is announcing it at lunch." I'm wide-awake now; sitting up slowly I rub my eyes to find Peeta's face directly in front of my own. I rear back a little, startled.

"I knew that would get you up." He smiles and kisses my cheek. "Come on, get dressed then we can go."

"Fine." I grunt and run my fingers through my tangled hair, slipping out of my pajamas. I put on a pair of shorts and a tank top, clip on the necklace from Annie and slip on my sandals. I am all ready in five short minutes.

"Let's go, I'm starved!" Peeta grins and grabbing my hand practically drags me all the way to the Odair's where we find the two couples already seated and beginning to eat.

"Nice of you to join us!" Finnick smirks and motions for us to sit down.

"Sorry, she didn't want to get up." Peeta says, pointing at me.

"Have to much fun last night?" Gale chuckles to himself causing both Peeta and I to turn a few different shades of red.

Then Peeta clears his throat, "We had a lovely time, thank you for asking." Gale and Finnick just smirk again and go back to eating. Peeta takes a banana and a mango for each of us from the stack and I immediately scarf down the banana in just a few bites. I decide not to eat the fish like the rest of them because technically this is breakfast for me, so I stick to the fruit. Peeta however once he is finished his fruit he sticks a raw fish on a stick and begins to cook it over the fire.

Finnick and Annie finish eating a few minutes later then he grabs Annie's hand and calls us to attention.

"Annie and I have so news to share with you all." He begins. The four of us stop eating and keep our eyes on the happy couple. Whatever it is it must be good news because Annie has been smiling all morning.

"Are we going to be rescued?!" Madge exclaims. Finnick chuckles and shakes his head, "No, sorry nothing like that."

"Did you find anything interesting when you went swimming yesterday?" Peeta suggest.

Again Finnick shakes his head. "Come on, just spit it out already!" Gale says and goes back to picking the bones out of his small fish.

"Annie, do you want to tell them or do you want me to?" Finnick asks quietly. She shrugs, "You go ahead."

"Okay everyone, Annie and I…" He gets cut off by Gale again. "Found a ship to get us out of here?"

"Guys just let him speak! This is taking way long then it should!" I say, somewhat exasperated.

"Thank you Katniss. Now, our big news is…"He pauses for dramatic effect. "We're expecting a baby!"

Madge shrieks and I almost fall off of the log I'm sitting on.

"Annie, you're pregnant?" Gale asks. Annie nods, the grin still hasn't left her face.

"Congratulations guys!" Peeta stands up and pats Finnick on the back, "It's about time!" Finnick just laughs and gives his blushing wife a kiss.

"Yeah seriously, how long have you two been married?" Gale smirks.

"We had our five year anniversary last month."

"Are you positive?" I ask hesitantly.

Annie nods again, "Oh yes, I couldn't be more sure."

"I'm so happy for you!" I say smiling and stand up to give her and Finnick each a friendly hug.

"Yeah, congrats." Gale says, standing up and slapping him on the back.

"How far along are you?" Madge asks.

"I'm not totally sure but probably around a month." Annie replies.

"Now we know how you celebrated your anniversary." Gale mutters, receiving a glare from Finnick and another blush from Annie.

"So, now what are the plans for this afternoon?" I ask, changing the subject.

"How about we go swimming!" Peeta suggests, "The weather is so nice and maybe the rest of us could swim around the island as well."

"Sounds fun." I say and look to the others.

"Sure." Finnick replies, "Annie?"

"I'd love to."

"Madge, Gale?" Peeta looks to them.

"It'd be fun, but only if Madge wants to." Gale says. All eyes turn to Madge then expectantly.

"Um, you guys can go and I'll just stat on the beach." She tells us.

"I could teach you how to swim!" Gale suggests, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I-I don't know Gale." She whispers.

"Come on, it's really easy! I'm sure you're a natural." He persists.

"You go ahead and have fun, I don't want to keep you here."

"I'm staying with you Madge, whether you like it or not. So we can either hang out around here or we can still go out into the water and I'll teach you how to swim."

"You know it'd probably be really helpful if we're on this island for a while longer that you learn." Annie says gently.

"Yeah I know. I guess I'm just kinda scared." Madge says, shrinking into Gale's side.

"I won't let anything happen to you." Her husband promises.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt." She relents.

"Great, we'll get started right away!"

I smile as we watch the two converse, glad that she is finally going to let Gale teach her to swim.

"Okay then, Kat should we go change?" Peeta asks. I nod and stand up.

"Yeah, thanks for breakfast, or lunch, whatever this was." I say to Annie.

"No problem, we'll change too then meet you out on the beach."

"Okay." Peeta and I then begin walking back to our _home_ to change into our swimwear, and so do Madge and Gale.

_**Madge's POV**_

I take Gale's hand and together we walk the short distance to our small shelter. I'm still nervous about learning how to swim but I trust Gale and I know that he's been dying to teach me for quite a while now. It's not just because I don't like being in the water, another reason is that I think I might be pregnant. I was really surprised at Finn and Annie's news this morning, I'm not positive but almost. Just from the symptoms and the way I've been feeling ever since we left District 12. I haven't told Gale my suspicions yet, I know that he really wants kids and I want to be 100% sure before I tell him.

I hope so much that we'll get off of this island before the babies come; I couldn't imagine giving birth in a place like this with no doctors or even a bed to lie in. Another reason that I don't want to tell Gale is that he'll probably end up becoming very strict about the things that I do and he'll never leave me alone, it's just the way he is.

All these thoughts run through my head during the 2-3 minutes that it takes us to get to our one roomed shelter.

"You sure are quiet." Gale says smiling.

"Oh I was just thinking." I reply, giving his hand a squeeze.

"What about?" He asks.

"Annie's baby, and hoping that we get off the island before it comes." It's at least part of what I was thinking about; I'm not ready to tell him everything yet.

"I know, it's exciting but kind of scary at the same time."

"Yeah." We enter the room then and quickly change into our swimsuits. I put on Gale's favorite, a dark green bikini with a mini skirt and halter-top. I put my long blond hair up into a high ponytail and grab my sunglasses that I managed to get before the boat sunk, Gale wasn't so lucky.

"Ready?" He asks a minute later. I nod and together we walk back to the beach. I don't bother bringing my only pair of shoes since I'll just end up taking them off and leaving them on the beach anyways so we both go barefoot, curling our toes in the soft golden sand. I find the occasional seashell and make a small pile of them, maybe to later give some character to our home of sticks and branches.

As the former mayor's daughter I've always had everything I needed, never been in want, and even after getting married, Gale and I lived in on of the lavish victor's houses that still stood in town, so living in a shelter in the woods is taking some getting used to.

For Gale this is practically normal, since he and Katniss loved the woods and spent all their free time out there, even though it was to hunt, but still, it's like the forest is a part of him.

I notice the other two couples further out in the deeper water, already beginning their swim around the island. Gale and I wave to them and they wave back then continue on their way.

"Are you ready?" He asks, taking off his t-shirt and dropping it in a heap on the sand.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess." I say.

"Good." He takes my hand and slowly leads me out into gently rippling waves. Thankfully the water is pleasantly warm so it doesn't take much getting used to like the deck pools on the ship were.

Once the water is up to my chest but only up to Gale's stomach he stops us.

"We'll start here where it isn't so deep."

"Okay." I agree.

"Now we're going to start with floating, then once you master that, swimming will be a breeze."

"I hope so."

"Don't worry." He leans down and gives me a quick kiss, "Okay, first I want you to lie back slowly." I look at him, unmoving. Gale just smiles, "Don't worry, I'll keep my arm under your back until you are comfortable."

"Okay." I reply quietly. Then leaning back into the water with Gale's strong arm supporting me I keep going until my head is just touching.

"Good, now let your legs rise until they are just beneath the surface of the water, then gently kick." I do exactly as he says and it is much easier than I expected.

"Very good!" He praises and I smile in return. "Now move your arms back and forth under the water." I do this also. "And…you are floating!" Gale exclaims.

"Yeah, but your arm is still under me." I say.

"No it's not." To prove it he lifts both of his hands up out of the water for me to see.

When I see that he is no longer helping me I panic and stop moving my arms and legs, then my head goes under.

It only last a few seconds before my knight in shining armor pulls me back up, but I am choking and spluttering we I do come up.

"What happened?" He asks, concern evident in his voice.

"I-I guess I just panicked." I reply, my eyes looking down.

"Hey, it's fine." He soothes and lifts my chin up so that I am looking him in the eye. "It was your first time and you did great! We'll just keep working on it."

"I'm sorry." I whisper, tears threatening to spill.

"Madge! There is nothing to be sorry about! Don't worry about it!" He says, leaning down and kisses my lips. This helps somewhat and by the time he pulls away I am ready to try again.

"I'm ready now." I tell him.

I lie back and just like last time he supports my back until I am floating on my back.

"I'm doing it!" I squeal, trying to keep my head out of the water.

"Good job Madge! I knew you could do it!" This time I stand up and don't get any water in my face.

"Okay, so what's the next step?" I ask eagerly.

"Next you'll be swimming on your back." We work on this for a little while, I'm not the most agile swimmer in the world but I am a pretty a fast learner, and of course Gale is a patient teacher.

"I think that's enough for now." He says about an hour later.

"Good, I'm exhausted." I say and together we swim back to shore.

"Can we try more tomorrow?" I ask.

"Of course." Gale smiles and takes my hand, and together we make our way back to our _home_ to change for dinner.

_**Yay a little Gadge in there! **____** I just love them as a couple! I hope you all liked it! The next will be longer if we get more reviews! Pretty please! Sorry for any mistakes…**_

_**Thanks to: **_

_**~HGFan4719**_

_**~MLN**_

_**~cata2810**_

_**~tjtreader: hope you enjoyed this little chapter just for you! **___

_**~Philippa**_

_**~Dancinghld**_

_**~TragedyIsTheKey**_

_**~xSmiley**_

_**Thanks again guys! Until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	14. Unwanted Visitors-Chapter 14

_**Hey! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in like forever! But it was my mom's birthday, my little sisters and mine all last week so I've been kinda busy ;) Now that everything is back to normal I should be updating regularly again. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, I didn't get as many as I wanted but I just couldn't make this chapter any shorter but since it's late I'd say it's okay. Oh and the 150th reviewer was...: FearlesswithHimJC! THanks!**_

_**Hope you like it! It's a pretty exciting chapter and fun to write.**_

_**Enjoy! Replies to reviews will be at the end of the chapter…**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games**_

_**Unwanted Guests-Chapter 14**_

Peeta, Finnick, Annie and I didn't get back to camp until the sun was already beginning to set and the sky was all orange and pink. Madge and Gale had gone to their room and the four of us were dead tired from all the swimming we'd done. We didn't find much but we did end up swimming all around the entire small island just to see that the other side is much like our side.

When we got back to shore Peeta and I grabbed a piece of fruit from the _kitchen_ then headed straight to our own shelter. We're barely inside before we both collapse onto the blankets and fall immediately asleep without bothering to change.

...

"Katniss!" I groan and shut my eyes tighter.

"Katniss, you need to get up right now." Peeta says seriously, giving my shoulders a gentle but firm shake.

"What?" I ask, opening my eyes just a crack.

"Finnick just spotted 2 small boats coming this way!" He exclaims.

"Great, now we can get back to district 12!" I say with a smiling, sitting up.

"Uh don't get your hopes up yet Kat, from what Finnick says he saw, the few people on those boats could be our worst enemies right now."

"You don't mean…" I don't finish but Peeta knows whom I'm referring to.

"We think so." He says gravely.

"Just great! We are finally sort of settling in to life here then they have to come and ruin it!" I yell, a little louder than necessary.

"I know Kat, that's why we need to get ready, they could be here any time." I am still in my bathing suit from yesterday so I quickly change into a shirt and a pair of shorts. While Peeta changes as well I braid my hair so it is out of the way and grab my bow and sling my quiver of arrows over my shoulder. Peeta then ties his dagger to his belt and the two of us set off to the Odair's. A strange sense of nervousness and anger settles into the pit of my stomach as we make the short trek towards our destination and I instinctively grab Peeta's hand and give it a squeeze. He looks down at me when I do this and kisses my forehead while saying, "Don't worry Kat, we outnumber them and we have weapons, I promise I won't let them hurt you."

"I know." I whisper, but even though I do know this is my heart it is still hard not to be scared of what could happen.

Finnick and Annie meet us outside of their lodging and Madge and Gale are on their way over.

"How close are they?" Peeta asks. Finnick in answer picks up the old telescope that we found yesterday and looks through.

"They could be here in about ten minutes and it is definitely the captain with, Cato, Colette and another man that are in the boats."

"Oh no." Annie moans and Finnick wraps his arms around her. "Don't worry honey, you and the baby will be fine. You and Madge are going to be put in a safe place until we run them off." He assures her.

"But Finn, you have to let me help!" Annie objects.

"No." He replies firmly. "I don't want anything to happen to you that could end up hurting our baby."

Annie finally nods in submission while rubbing her tummy soothingly. It is not yet evident that she is pregnant but she'll probably start showing soon enough. Every since they told us the big news yesterday morning Finnick has been overly protective of Annie, doing little things for her and not letting her do other simple tasks, it's kinda sweet.

Finnick picks up the telescope again, pointing it out over the water.

"They're really close now." He informs us, hooking the scope to his pants. "We need to get Madge and Annie to a safe spot until this is all over." Finn directs his speech to Gale who has just arrived with Madge. Gale nods in agreement, pulling his small wife closer to his side.

"Where are they going to go?" I ask.

"Annie and I found a small hidden cave not too far from here during our exploration the other day." Finnick says.

"Okay, sounds good."

"I'll take Madge and Annie there then come back to help you three." He tells us, gesturing to Gale, Peeta and me.

"Hopefully you are able to beat them." Gale says and Peeta nods in agreement.

"Me too." Finnick then picks up a backpack and stuffs in two blankets and some pieces of fruit for the girls to have with them just in case they have to stay in the cave longer than a few hours.

"Here, take this." Finn says and hands me the telescope.

"Thanks." I reply and hook it to my shorts much like he had done.

A minute later the three of them are ready and after Gale gives Madge a bone crushing hug and a passionate kiss, Finnick leads them into the forest.

"How close are they now?" Peeta asks, coming to stand beside me. I hand him the telescope and he shuts one eye to get a better view.

"I see them!" Gale exclaims.

"Yeah, they're really close now." Peeta replies, handing me the scope and I in turn hook it back to my shorts.

Sure enough two small lifeboats are being tossed around in the waves and all the while being pulled closer and closer to shore, and us.

"I don't think Finn will make it back before them." Gale declares and Peeta and I nod solemnly.

"Should we hide until they come onto the shore, that way we'll have the element of surprise." I suggest.

"Good idea Catnip. We can hide behind the few large trees at the base of the forest."

"Okay." I say and the three of us move a little closer to the line of trees. We find three trees close together and after dividing the weapons evenly we separate. After Gale moves to his tree Peeta gives me a soothing hug then a kiss and I have to say I feel much more confidant now.

I string an arrow on my precious bow but keep it aimed at the ground for now; I don't want to just kill unnecessarily. I am the only one with a distance weapon, Gale and Peeta only have daggers so if they give me the signal I _will_ shoot, I just kind of hope that whatever happens that we won't have to kill, or be killed.

The four passengers of the two boats are now easily visible as the captain, Cato, Colette and a man I've never seen before. If they've been floating around for all this time without seeing land or getting food and water they are probably very weak and hungry, so hopefully it won't be too much of a challenge to fight them, if it comes to that. A small part of me can't help hoping that they'll end up going to the other side of island or floating right past. My wish of course is not granted because the next time I look out over the beach and water the two boats have docked. I glance over at Peeta and he puts a finger to his lips, signaling for me to keep quiet. It's a good thing that I am good at being quiet because of all my time hunting in the woods otherwise if I was any other normal girl I'd probably let out a scream or snap a twig or something dumb like that.

The three of us watch intently as the passengers hop out into the knee-deep water and begin pulling their boats to shore. My breathing immediately begins to quicken and my heart pounds as my eyes stay trained on the foursome, coming closer and closer to our hiding place. I really hope they don't find our shelters and steal our provisions, but we would stop them before they did anyways. Peeta gives me a small comforting smile and grasps the hilt of his dagger in preparation.

Once the boats are all the way up onto the sand the passengers take off their wet shoes and begin walking up the beach. I go from standing on one leg to the other, tired of standing still and ready for some action. I don't have to wait long before they are only a few feet away and just a second later Gale gives Peeta and I the signal and we step out of hiding, pointing our weapons at the unwanted visitors.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here." The captain smirks, showing no fear whatsoever.

"Never thought we'd see you again." Cato grins.

"Same here." I say, giving them a fake smile. "I hope you all are doing well." Peeta smiles as well.

"Oh just dandy thank you." Cato spits out.

"Well we'd invite you to breakfast but we don't really have enough food to spare so you're on your own." Gale informs them nonchalantly.

"Oh no problem, we have plenty of our own." The captain says, motioning to a large pack on the mystery man's back.

"Enough with the chit-chat!" Colette screeches. "Let's just get this over with!"

"Patience dearie." The captain calms her. "But you're right, I'm tired of this, let's just do what we came for and get back to civilization." Our eyes widen when he says this. _So they knew we were here already._ I think to myself_. And they only came back to finish us off so that when they get back to the capitol they won't have to worry about us interfering with them again, not like we have ever since the rebellion but whatever. _

"How about we just say good-bye and head our separate ways." Peeta suggests sweetly.

"Oh you wish." Cato sneers.

"Consider yourselves warned." Gale smirks moves closer to them.

"Oh really, you seriously think that the three of you can take on us?" The captain makes a motion with his hand, gesturing to his three companions.

"Yes, we do." I say.

"Well I guess we'll let you die thinking that you didn't go down without a fight." The captain shrugs.

"What are you going to try and strangle us to death?" Gale jokes.

"Oh, no. We'll use this." The captain grins and pulls out a pistol. All the color drains from my face when I see the gun and I move to take Peeta's hand.

"What about the other girls and the blond guy, I'm pretty sure you didn't just leave them behind." Colette asks. Nobody answers.

"Where are they hiding?" She screams. Again, we stay silent. Then the sound of the cocking of the gun is heard and our eyes move to the captain who has his pointer finger on the trigger and is pointing the barrel directly at Peeta's heart.

"You will tell us or your precious husband will be dead in an instant." Peeta gulps and I squeeze his hand almost to the point of pain.

"So, where are your friends?" Cato asks.

"We're not telling!" Gale shouts at them.

"Probably not the best idea." The captain says and slowly begins pulling back on the trigger.

"Wait!" I call out before the bullet is released. "Don't shoot him, shoot me instead." Peeta's eyes go wide, "No Katniss! Are you crazy?"

"I have a plan, just go along with it." I whisper and he nods somewhat reluctantly.

"You would really give up your life for him?" The captain asks, an amused look on his features.

"A thousand times." I reply, the form of Finnick running down the beach towards us just visible out of the corner of my eye giving me the courage to proceed. He is behind the bad guys so they haven't noticed him yet; I just need to keep talking to give Finnick time to get here.

"How sweet." The captain smiles a sickly sweet smile. "But I'd still like to shoot him first, don't worry, you can join him right after."

"Well I have a bow and once you pull that trigger Colette will also be dead in an instant." I reply confidently while pointing the arrow right at the girl's chest.

"No matter, she is of no further use to me anyways." The captain replies with a shrug.

Cato's face is now burning with anger, "You liar!" He shouts and lunges for the captain, but before he gets too close the gun moves away from Peeta and the trigger is pulled. A loud pop sounds and Cato falls to the ground. Before the crazy captain can do any more damage Finnick arrives and with the hilt of his dagger hits the guy over the head and he falls to the ground next to a dead Cato. Colette screams and rushes to Cato's side, telling him that she's sorry and not to leave her, but he's gone and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

"Are you all okay?" Finnick asks, coming over to us.

"Yeah, fine." Gale assures him. "What about the girls?" He adds in a quieter tone.

"Safe and sound." Finnick replies, "Sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"No problem." Peeta says with a small smile. We then notice that the man who had been standing to the side during this whole ordeal has disappeared along with the pack of their provisions. This leaves Colette who is in no state to fight, with red, puffy eyes and tears still streaming down her cheeks and her shoulders trembling as she sits on her knees next to her dead brother. I do feel a little bad for her but before I can do anything Peeta being the sweet and caring person that he is, bends down beside her and putting an arm around her shoulders whispers soothing words until the girl begins to calm down. After a few minutes he helps her stand up and brings her over to Gale, Finnick and I.

"So I guess you'll just take the boat and go back to the capitol?" Gale asks. Colette shrugs and wipes her eyes on her shirtsleeve.

"Don't think that'll be happening anytime soon." Finnick announces. "Look." All of us turn to where he is pointing to find that one of boats is now gone.

"Probably that other guy." I mutter. "Yeah, who was he?" Peeta asks Colette.

"I-I don't really know. He never spoke and I assumed that he was just another guy that needed money and was working for the captain." She replies.

"So are you going to leave or stay here?" Peeta asks.

"Probably stay here, I could never get back alone." She replies.

"That's no problem as long as you are civil to the rest of us and don't try to kill us in our sleep." Finnick jokes.

"I never wanted to hurt you." She blurts out. "I was just in need of money and because of our past I jumped at the chance of revenge, but it cost my brother's life and I'll never get involved in something like that again."

"That's okay, at least you didn't hurt any of us." Finnick smiles.

"Yeah, but I would have!" She counters.

"It doesn't matter as long as you don't do anything now."

"I promise I won't." She replies solemnly.

"Good." Gale smiles and shakes her hand. "So if you aren't taking the boat and none of us could ever get back home how about we put 'unconscious' over here in it and see if he can get back once he wakes up." We turn to the unconscious captain lying face first in the sand.

"Sounds like a pretty good idea Gale." I say smiling.

"Well let's get it over with before he wake up." Peeta says and begins walking over to the man.

"Don't worry, I hit him pretty hard." Finnick grins and walks over to help. The two boys drag the man down the beach and throw him into the boat. After taking out a backpack that could possibly be useful they, with Gale's help they push the boat out into the water and we all watch as it rides the waves out of site.

"Well hopefully that's the last we'll be seeing of him." Finnick says, wiping his hands on his pants.

"Me too." I agree.

"Now Gale and Peeta you guys can begin on a small shelter for Colette to stay in while she's here and I'll go and retrieve the girls." Finnick orders.

"So they _were_ hiding!" Colette grins.

"Yes, but don't get any ideas." Gale says, "No one lays a hand on _my woman_ and gets away with it!"

"Don't worry man, I'd never cross you." Colette replies jokingly.

"See you soon!" Finnick calls and with that he sprints off in the opposite direction to get Madge and Annie.

"Well then." Peeta says once Finnick is out of sight. "Where would you like your shelter to be?"

"Doesn't matter." Colette says. We show her Finn and Annie's place, then Madge and Gale's and last of all, Peeta's and mine.

"Wow, you all did a really great job building these." She compliments.

"It's not much, but it does its job." Peeta replies humbly.

Colette finally decides on a location with a cluster of a few trees for her shelter to be built. We now have a large square of the different shelters and paths to each one.

Finnick arrives a few minutes after we've begun to build and Gale immediately stops to meet Madge, lifting her up in his arms and swinging her around and giving her kisses all over her face while asking if she is alright. She just nods and smiles the whole time until Gale sets her down but doesn't let go of hand.

The backpack that the boys had taken from the boat is actually Colette's with her clothes and supplies so we don't have to part with any of our things.

"Hey, how about breakfast?" Finnick suggests.

"Great, I'm starved!" Peeta and Gale announce at the same time while rubbing their stomachs.

"Good, because we're having mangoes! Again."

_**Yeah not a very good place to stop but whatever. Did you enjoy it!? It sure was fun to write. Thanks for reading and please don't forget to let me know what you thought of it or your predictions of what might happen in the future!**_

_**~A new reviewer: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! You know that is actually an amazing idea that I never thought of but I'll keep it in mind **__** Thanks again for the sweet review!**_

_**~Phillipa: Awe thank you! I love you for reading and reviewing! **_

_**~canadianboy98: thanks! Not a bad idea, we'll see!**_

_**~FearlesswithHimJC: yeah well, you reminded me **__**Thanks!**_

_**~HGFAn4719: Well Cato and them finally made an appearance, I bet it wasn't what you expected to happen! To be honest it surprised me too. Lol. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~Fangirl in a fandom world: Yeah, I kinda made it obvious, lol. Good job **_

_**~schrisham: Thanks! Well we'll find out soon1 **_

_**~tjtreader: No problem **__** Thanks, glad you did!**_

_**~Dancinghld: Ikr! They are just so sweet! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Thanks again guys! And I'll be updating sooner this time **__** Until next chapter!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	15. Tiger!-Chapter 15

_**Here I am with another early chapter for you all! So before you begin reading I'd like to clear something up. In a lot of the reviews people asked why in the world I had the couples let the captain go and not take the boat for themselves, well there are a few reasons: First like Gale said they would really have no idea how to get back to Panem; Second the boat is way to small for all 7 of them and their things and is a lifeboat not a sailboat; And thirdly Annie is pregnant and possibly Madge to so it wouldn't be real good for them. They didn't want to actually kill the captain and they also didn't want him on the island causing trouble, that's why they let him go. Don't worry I have plans and they won't be on the island forever **____** Hope that helps!**_

_**Thanks for all the reviews I received for the last chapter; I am really glad so many people are enjoying reading this. There is somewhat of a time jump in this one so I hope that's okay **___

_**Well that's all for now, enjoy the chapter!**_

_**Chapter #15**_

The next few days and weeks go by relatively quickly as long as we find things to do. Colette has made a drastic change and seems to fit in quite well with the rest of us. I'm still keeping one eye on her just in case though. Peeta and I went to the waterfall again twice last week just to get away and be alone together, it was really nice. Annie is barely beginning to show, at least when she is wearing her swim suit and her belly is bare it is getting just a little bit rounder. I can tell that both Finn and Annie are beyond excited although Finnick still barely lets Annie do anything but cook, not wanting her to exert herself to much.

Last week Madge and Gale announced that they are expecting as well and we all congratulated them. It really is exciting and lately I've found myself thinking about if Peeta and I had kids, I want them, but at the same time I'm kind of scared. Peeta hasn't mentioned it so I don't either, I'm sure it'll come up when the time is right.

I never did find Gale to be the clingy touchy feely kind of person, but ever since Madge entered the picture he has changed, a lot. He is much more sympathetic now and is so sweet and gentle with Madge like she is a glass doll that could break if handled to roughly. I can't say that I haven't changed either since I met Peeta, other people have told me to my face that I am nicer and more open since we got together.

We have been on the island a total of one month now and still no sign of rescue. I'm not complaining, I've learned to live here and enjoy it but I do miss Prim. Everyone back home probably thinks that we're all dead by now.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I look up into Peeta's smiling eyes and shrug.

"Just thinking about everything that has happened and the babies coming in a few months." He smiles and settles down on the sand beside me and we watch the waves together. After a few moments he speaks,

"What do you think about children Kat?" I gasp a little and look him in the eye. His question shocked me a little since that is just what I was thinking about it but I try and regain my composure quickly.

"I-I'm not sure. I would like to have kids, one day I guess. When we're not on an island and back in District 12. If we ever do get back." I add much quieter.

His answer is not what I had expected, "Really?" I nod slowly.

"Oh I'm so glad. I know before the rebellion you never wanted to have kids and we haven't really talked about it since then."

"Yeah, well ever since the others announced their pregnancy I've noticed how happy and thrilled they all act and someday I'd like to experience it too."

Peeta smiles and puts an arm around my shoulders. "Sounds good." He says then kisses my cheek. "I love you, so, so much. You know that right?" He says.

I nod, "Of course, I love you too."

"I still can't believe you finally agreed to marry me!" He says jokingly.

"Hey!" I playfully smack his arm. "I needed sometime, I'm not one to rush into things."

"I know, I know, I was just messing with you. Although sometimes I still can't believe it." Peeta pulls me closer to him and I rest my head on his shoulder. "Me neither Peeta, me neither." Then we just sit there in silence, digging our toes into the soft grains of sand and watching the small waves lap up on shore then roll back to sea, occasionally leaving shells and green seaweed behind. I don't know how long we sit there side by side but what seems like just a few minutes later the sun begins to set, coloring the sky a breathtaking swirl of orange and red, like fire on the sea.

"Are you two hungry at all?"

We both turn around quickly at the voice. Finnick stands a few feet behind us, his hands full of bananas and mangoes and a smirk on his face.

"I hadn't thought about it but now that I do, I am pretty hungry." Peeta replies, detaching himself from me and standing up. He brushes the sticky sand off the seat of his pants and walks over to Finnick.

"Thanks man, that was real thoughtful of you."

Finnick just smiles, "No problem, we ate already and I'm going for a walk with Annie down the beach, thought you might want something to eat."

"Thanks Finn!" I call over to him and he waves back.

"Yeah, thanks." Peeta takes the fruit from Finnick and sets the armload on the ground in front of us.

"You hungry?" He asks. I nod and peel a banana. Peeta in turn picks up a large ripened mango and after releasing his knife from his belt he begins peeling the skin off the yellow fruit.

I finish my banana in just a few bites and also grab a mango.

"Do you miss home?" Peeta asks in between bites of his mango.

"Mostly Prim." I reply, "But it really isn't so bad here."

"You're right." He agrees. "But I'm really craving some bakery bread or cookies right now."

"Mm, that'd be so good. Although you probably miss it more than I do; I used to only eat bread on special occasions where as you lived with it your entire life."

"I guess." He replies and continues eating his mango. We don't even eat close to all of the fruit and just leave the rest in a pile on the sand. Once my belly is full I lay my head on Peeta's lap and close my eyes contentedly while he slowly and gently releases my long hair from its braid and runs his fingers through it.

I open my eyes to just catch the ending of the sunset.

"It's your favorite color." I muse quietly.

"Sure is." Peeta agrees.

"I wish it could just stay there, the sunset that is." I say.

"Yeah, that'd be nice. But then we'd never get to enjoy the blue sky either."

"You're right. I think I'd miss that."

"Me too." The sun dips down all the way until it is quite dark out, but then the moon pops up and illuminates off the water giving us a little light to see by.

"Do you think that they will send out a rescue boat once they realize that something bad has happened to ours?" I ask a few minutes later.

"I don't know. I think the captain cut off all communication from Panem once we were out of sight and I'm sure that the sailors back in District 4 would have noticed that or if not since we were supposed to be back by now they know that something isn't right."

"Yeah."

My eyes begin to get heavier and in my comfortable position with Peeta playing with my hair I fall asleep.

_**District 4-**_

_**Third Person**_

Two men from the District 4's ship headquarters are seated in one of the men's office, each with a coffee cup in hand.

"You asked to see me?" The guest of the first man asks.

"Yes, yes. Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Not a problem, now what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Well I'm not sure if you remember but almost 5 weeks ago we sent out a cruise ship with approximately 200 passengers. As you probably know it was one of the first pleasure ships to go out since the rebellion." The man explains and the other nods understandably.

The speaker continues, "The ship was supposed to dock back here 3 weeks ago but no one has seen it and after checking the records on the computers all communication had been cut off from the ship." The listening gasps slightly, "Are you implying that it was sunk?"

"That, or just got lost, but I doubt that."

"What was the name of the captain?"

"I'm not sure, but I can check." The man and owner of the office spins around in his swivel chair and begins tapping on the keys of his computer keyboard.

"Oh, here it is. The name is just Jack S."

The other man goes a little pale when this name is said, "A-are you sure that's the name sir?" He asks hesitantly.

"Yes, it is written plain as day right here." He points to the screen for the other to see. "Is there something wrong? Do you know him?"

"Well I don't know him personally." The pale man says once he's regained some of his composure and the color is beginning to return to his cheeks. "But I've heard of him from when I was in the capitol last year."

"Who is he?"

"A man who was totally against the rebellion, who tried everything to stop it and the people starting it. He was successful of course but I'm not so sure now."

"Oh no."

"Sir, who were some of the passengers of the ship?"

"Oh, well Gale and Madge Hawthorne who were in the last games but kind of got this whole thing started. They are pretty much heroes to everyone around." The man sitting across from his pales a little again. "And also their friends Katniss and Peeta who were just recently married. Then there was Finnick Odair, the older victor and his wife, a few others too but I can't recall their names. Why do you ask?"

"It all makes sense now."

"What, what are you saying?"

"I know why that ship hasn't returned."

"And why is that?"

"Because the captain has sunk it himself."

"What?! That's preposterous!"

"Not really, he wanted to get all those famous and strong people out of his way in one shot." The pale man explains.

"Karl, what does the 's' in Jack's name stand for?"

Karl swallows audibly and opens his mouth to speak, "Snow, it stands for Snow."

_**Back on the Island**_

When I wake up I find myself snuggled up to Peeta and covered up with a blanket in our own little shelter. I smile to myself when I realize that after I fell asleep out on the bench Peeta must have carried me all the way back here. From what I can see through the window the sun is just barely beginning to show so I figure I can get a few more hours sleep; after closing my eyes I drift back off into dreamland.

When I wake up again the sun is high in the sky and it is quite warm out. I roll over to check and see if Peeta is awake yet and my heart literally stops when he isn't there beside me just like every other morning. I know I probably shouldn't panic, that Peeta is most likely just at the Odair's or gone for a walk or something, hopefully that's all it is. I throw off the blanket quickly and slip into the same clothes I wear pretty much every day, then I braid my hair and tie Annie's necklace around my neck. After sliding the sandals onto my feet I step outside into the open air. Not wanting to bother with my bow I just grab the small knife that we keep inside and hook it to the belt loop on my shorts, just in case. Then I take off at a dead run towards Finnick and Annie's place, hoping that everything will be totally normal when I arrive.

But no such luck, when I come to the entrance to the Odair's shelter it is totally deserted, so I take a calming breath and hurry over to the Hawthorne's, trying not to come up with the worst possible scenarios for what happened. Ducking inside to their shelter I don't seem to find anything at first because it is so quiet, then I see a body wrapped up in a blanket in one corner, only a mass of blond hair visible. Madge.

I hurry over to her and crouch down beside the sleeping girl.

"Madge." I whisper and gently shake her shoulder. Her eyes open almost immediately and she sits up quickly.

"Katniss? What's wrong? What happened? Where's Gale?"

"Hold on!" I say. "One question at a time."

Madge blushes, "Sorry, okay is something wrong?"

"That's what I don't know." I tell her honestly. I just woke up not long ago and Peeta wasn't beside me so I came looking, nobody is around and its very quiet."

"Gale was asleep next to me last time I was awake as well, I'm surprised I didn't hear him leave." Madge says, trying to comb her hair with her fingers. "And Finnick and Annie?"

I shake my head, "Nowhere in sight."

"Well what are we waiting for, lets start searching!" The pregnant woman exclaims, standing up quickly and throwing on a sundress.

"Okay." I agree and the two of us step back outside.

"Where do you think they could have gone?" She asks me.

"I have no idea, but we could start by just walking up and down the beach." I suggest.

"Sounds good."

Madge surprises me by grabbing my hand and giving it a friendly but encouraging squeeze, "We're going to find them."

"I know." Kicking off our sandals we start walking down the beach, keeping our eyes and ears open for anything that could indicate our husbands whereabouts.

"You didn't see Colette either?"

I shake my head, "Nope, do you think that this could have something to do with her?"

Madge shrugs, "I don't think so, I mean she's changes so much in the last month, and really seems to be fitting in with us, I doubt she'd try something now."

"I sure hope you're right Madge."

"Me too Kat, me too." We stroll through the sand in silence for the next few minutes, still not seeing anything that could help us in our search but not wanting to give up.

"Maybe they went to get mangoes and bananas, we are running kind of low." Madge proposes.

"Yeah maybe, but wouldn't they have left one person behind for when we awoke?"

"That's what I don't get. Gale has barely left my side all week every since I confirmed my pregnancy and now he's just gone."

"Maybe they got tired of us." I say jokingly. Madge cracks a smile, "I find that very hard to believe." I chuckle and we continue on our way down the beach, getting further and further away from our camp with every step. Just then Madge tenses and stops walking.

"Madge, what is it?" I ask, concern evident in my voice.

"Did you hear that?" She whispers. I crane my ears to hear what she heard, surprised that I didn't pick it up with my hunter's senses.

"I don't hear anything." I tell her.

"I'm sure I heard something, just faintly, but it sounded like a growl."

"I hope you're wrong Madge."

"I guess we'll find out soon, let's hurry." Taking my hand again we begin running farther down the beach until I hear a noise as well. I don't tell Madge but I heard it. A great snarling and growling, and I also heard a human shout and cry of pain. I push my legs harder, practically dragging poor Madge behind me. I curse myself for not having my bow with me when it could possibly be useful.

A few minutes later we are at a part of the island that I've never been to before, and what lies before us makes me want to run away and hide. Madge's face has gone deathly pale and she looks as though she might faint. There, not 20 meters in front of us is Colette, Gale, Peeta, Finnick and Annie. They haven't noticed our presence yet but I don't blame them. A huge cat-like animal with orange and black fur, huge white fangs and enormous sharp claws is circling the five of them. Annie has a long gash down her arm and it is dripping with blood. Finnick seems to be fine but Peeta has a small cut on his cheek but other than that is unharmed. Colette on the other hand has an ugly wound on her leg but she is still standing, ready to fight.

The animal crouches ready to pounce and just as it does, Madge lets out a terrifying scream causing Gale to lay eyes on her which wasn't very smart because the animal's claws take that chance to rake across Gale's back, leaving him lying face first in the sand, blood gushing from the wounds on his back. Madge runs to him immediately, not thinking about how she could get hurt as well but only wanting to help her injured husband. I decide that maybe the others could use my help so with my small dagger I come charging towards them.

Peeta doesn't notice me until I am beside him.

"Man, Peeta, you had me worried sick!" I yell and dodge a deadly swipe of the animal's paw.

"I'm sorry but we had to lure it away from you two." He yells back.

I wait until the cat-like animal is closing on me before I drive my dagger into its neck. He howls and stumbles into the woods away from us.

"Good job Katniss!" Finnick congratulates me. I smile while Peeta engulfs me in a bone crushing hug. "Are you okay?" He asks worriedly, checking me all over.

"I'm fine, but Gale isn't." The other four turn their eyes on the man lying on the ground and Madge crying profusely beside him, shaking him with all her might.

"He's unconscious." Annie states.

"We need to get him back to camp." Finnick says.

"I'll help." Peeta and I say at the same time.

"Katniss, how about you take care of Madge and bring her back, this trauma isn't good for her, she needs to stay calm." Finnick instructs.

"Sure, but what about your wife?"

"Believe me I wanted to leave her behind but she insisted and she is a little more used to stuff like this than Madge." He replies. "Oh and Annie can take care of Colette, she's going to need her leg wrapped up."

"Is the baby okay?" I ask and Annie nods, rubbing her tummy comfortingly.

"Okay, I'll do my best but believe me, she's not going to want to leave Gale's side."

"Yeah I know." Finnick agrees and we all walk over the two on the ground.

"Come on Madge, let's get you back to camp." I say quietly, grabbing her by the arms.

"No! I'm not leaving him!" She screams and tries to get away from me.

""It's okay, he'll be right behind us, but you need to rest, think about the baby." I tell her.

"Fine, but he's coming back to our shelter with me." I nod and help her up again. She gives Gale a soft kiss on his forehead before coming along with me, Annie and Colette follow and the guys as well an unconscious Gale trailing slowly behind.

_**Well what did you think? Kind of boring at the beginning but more exciting towards the end, huh? **_

_**So thanks to: A New Reviewer for giving me the idea when the people back in Panem start to figure things out, thanks! Hope you like it **___

_**And also: schrisham for the idea of adding some kind of wild animal of mutt to the island **___

_**Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave a review at the end!**_

_**Thanks to all the reviewers for the last chapter:**_

**ODAIR'SHEART: Thank you! Yeah sorry I had him die, **** Nah he didn't like her, it was all fake in the first book. Thanks for reviewing!**

**A new reviewer: I don't think I could let that happen so you don't have to worry **** I'm not good at writing things like that **** Thanks so much, glad you like it!**

**Canadianboy98: Thanks bro!**

**Teampeeta1223: Thanks for reviewing! **

**Schrisham: So I used your idea! Well sorta, since this isn't Panem mutts don't exist but tigers do! Thanks again **

**Arrianna Buttram: Well I can tell you now that none of them will die **** So glad you feel like that when you are reading, that really means a lot ****Thanks for the review!**

**Dancinghld: Yeah, thanks. Maybe I'll write a little bit on him too, guess we'll see. Thanks for reviewing!**

**HGFanc4719: I'm just full of surprises, lol. Hope the AU at the top kind of helped. Thanks again for reviewing!**

**FearlesswithHimJC: yep, but at least she's good for now **** Thank you!**

**Fangirl in a fandom world: Thank you!**

**Katniss72500" Yep she sure is. Yeah that is kind of sad, I know **** Sorry I didn't have the put in but I felt the need to make a little tine skip, Thanks for reviewin!**

**ClatoIsReal: It seems like it for now, Thanks for the review!**

**Thanks again so much guys! Hope you enjoyed this longer chapter and sorry for any mistakes**** Until next time!**

**~FirePearl.**


	16. A Kiss In The Rain-Chapter 16

_**Yay another early update! I've been in a writing mood this week so enjoy it while it lasts! **__** Thanks for the reviews last chapter, glad you all enjoyed it. It was fun to write. It was also my longest chapter in this story! I'll reply to reviews at the end of the chapter.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games.**_

_**Chapter #16**_

It takes us almost an hour to get back to camp. Gale was still unconscious by the time we arrived so the guys dropped him off at his shelter, leaving Madge to take care of him. I asked if she needed any help but she waved me off and said that she'd be fine, so now Peeta and I are on our way back to our place where I can check out his wound.

"Kat I'm fine, no need to get all freaked out over a little cut on my cheek." Peeta tells me once we're inside and I am searching through our meager supplies for anything medical.

"I know Peeta, but just this once let me take care of you."

"Fine." He replies, trying not to smile.

"Good." I fine a strip of old fabric from something, probably that old dress we found in the chest, and pour a little of the water from the bottle, wetting it slightly. I carefully dab it over the cut and Peeta winces a little but stays quiet.

"It's not too bad." I assure him. He just gives me a small smile and I continue wiping away the dried blood.

"Well we don't have any medicine to put on it to prevent infection so I guess we'll just have to keep it clean."

"It's fine." He says.

"I hope so." My hand lingers on his cheek a little longer than needed but he doesn't seem to mind.

"I should get hurt more often so that you'll baby me." Peeta chuckles and I just roll my eyes.

"Yeah, you do that Peeta, just nothing too serious since we don't have any medicine."

"I'm kidding!" He says laughing.

"I know." I reply and lean up against him. We both still have light scars on our arms and legs from our little accident in the president's mansion almost four years ago. The spikes in the rope prison had sliced my skin all over and even with the medical technology I was still left with a few to remember what we had to go through to get our freedom.

"What are you thinking about?" Peeta asks quietly, stroking my hair.

"The price so many of us had to pay during the rebellion, for us to get the freedom we have today." I tell him.

"We did go through a lot didn't we?" He kisses me temple and pulls me closer to him.

"We sure did. But it was worth it, wasn't it?" I ask, looking up into his eyes.

"Absolutely." He replies, leaning down and kissing my lips. I in turn wrap both of my arms around his middle, hugging him tightly.

"Did you know that I love you more than anything?" Peeta whispers into my ear.

I smile, "Yeah, I think you've told me once or twice."

"Well let me tell you again. Katniss Mellark I love you so much, more than anyone else I've loved or will ever love." I squeeze him tight, "I love you too Peeta." I'm not good with fancy words but I know that he knows how much I love him.

I check my watch, _1pm. _

"Are you hungry yet?" I ask.

"Actually, yes I'm very hungry." He replies. "How about we get something to eat then we can go for a little walk together. How does that sound?"

"Sounds perfect." I reply and give him a soft kiss.

"Good."

"You know we really should start providing our own food and stop relying on Finnick and Annie for meals." Peeta muses on our way to the Odair's for lunch.

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe Finnick could teach one of us to fish or Gale and I hunt for everyone and they fish. We can go collect fruit every few days and have maybe one meal with everyone and the other two to ourselves." I suggest, liking his idea already.

"Good idea. We can bring it up over lunch with the others."

"Okay." I reply with a smile and swing our linked hands back and forth in between us. A few minutes later we are sitting down in a circle just like usual and Annie is passing out a freshly caught fish, courtesy of Finnick, to each of us to cook over the fire. After a month of eating the same things with no real spices or anything, and no bread and desserts it really gets boring and the only reason we eat is to stay alive. For breakfast we have a banana or mango, for lunch usually a fish cooked over the fire, and for dinner a rabbit stew caught by either Gale or I. I guess you can't really call it a stew since it was mostly bowled salt water with the meat and maybe a few herbs that I had been lucky to find in the woods.

Gale has made a remarkable recovery in the last few hours and I am surprised to see him here, alive and well. He's still a little pale, but for just have gotten attacked by a tiger he looks amazing.

"…So we were thinking that maybe we start eating meals on our own except for maybe lunch we could do together." Peeta is saying.

"You know Annie and I had actually been discussing this very topic earlier." Finnick says. "I could still catch the same amount of fish and we'd just distribute them among us, and Kat and Gale can still hunt and we'll divide that up to. The fruit everyone can just go and collect when needed."

"I like it." Gale announces. "That way we aren't putting the preparation of the meals all on Annie, and we can also eat just as couples." He puts his arm around Madge while saying this.

"Great, then it's settled." Peeta smiles and continues to rotate is fish over the bright orange coals.

"Should we have lunch together then?" Annie asks.

"Sure." Peeta agrees.

"Oh and each of us could take turns hosting lunch at our own places!" Madge suggests.

"Good idea!" Gale grins and kisses her cheek causing both cheeks to turn slightly pink.

"Uh, where's Colette?" I ask, having only just now noticed her absence.

"She said she was feeling tired after the fight and decided to rest. She also said that she doesn't want to have to rely on us for provisions so she'll be taking care of her own meals." Annie informs us.

"We could invite her to lunch though." Madge proposes.

"Yeah, if she wants to." Finnick agrees and begins cutting his now cooked fish into bite sized pieces.

"Catnip, you want to hunt this afternoon?" Gale asks between bites of fish.

"Sorry Gale, I'm busy this afternoon, but tomorrow we can." I promise.

"Oh really. And what plans might you have?" He asks smirking.

"I'm spending the day with Peeta." I announce.

"And what are the two of you doing in the next 8 hours of the day?"

"None of your business!" I say a little louder than necessary. "We don't even know yet. Probably go for a walk and maybe hang out at the waterfall or something." I tell him a little annoyed.

"Okay, okay!" He grins holding his hands up in mock defense. "Madge and I were going to spend the day alone together as well, I was only teasing."

"Sure, whatever." I grumble under my breath.

"So Finnick." Peeta declares interrupting our little argument. "How do you and Annie plan on spending your afternoon?"

"Oh I don't know." Finnick stretches and places his plate on the ground. "What would you like to do Annie?" She shrugs, "I don't know, take a nap?"

Finnick's smile falters.

"What?! Being pregnant is very tiring!" She cries defensively.

"I know, I was kidding." Finnick smiles and gives her a kiss.

"Hey, not around the dinner table!" Gale makes a fake gagging sound, earning a glare from Madge.

"Just kidding." He sobers and kisses Madge, this time right on the mouth. Her smile returns and Peeta and I just kind of sit there awkwardly watching the two couples.

"Actually Finnick. I take that back. We can nap later. I really want to go swimming." Annie declares to her husband. Finnick's face lights up, "Sounds fun!"

"I guess we'll be going now." Gale says and stands up, pulling Madge up a long with him. "We'll see you all later or if not, tomorrow." We wave to the couple and watch them make their way back to their shelter. I barely catch the beginning of their conversation before they get too far away.

"Do you think you could help me swim some more today?" I hear Madge ask.

"Are you sure you want to?" Gale puts his hand on her still relatively flat tummy protectively.

"Gale, I'm a little over a month pregnant, besides a little swimming won't hurt me a bit. I need to get some exercise."

"Well in that case…" He doesn't finish but swoops the smaller girl up into his arms and carries her back to their place.

"Guess we'll be going too." Peeta tells the other couple and helps me to my feet.

"Enjoy your afternoon!" Annie smiles and waves after us.

"You too!" I call over my shoulder and give her a little wave as well.

"You know we should add onto our shelter room and have a small kitchen like Finn and Annie have." Peeta says as we make our way back _home._

"I was thinking the same thing Peeta Oh and that reminds me, I'll need to get some food dishes from Annie if we're going to be eating separately."

"Oh right, and there is only one big iron pot for stews."

"Eh, we'll manage." I give him a small smile and step inside to our home for the last month.

We both change into our swimsuits, putting our clothes over top until we actually swim.

"So, where do you want to go?" He asks once we're all ready to go.

"How about we go for a walk around a part of the island that we've never explore before then we head back to the waterfall to refresh ourselves." I suggest.

"I like it." Peeta kisses my cheek then takes my hand in his and we begin our stroll down the beach in the opposite direction from where we fought the tiger yesterday.

In the four weeks that we've been on this island we have not even had one day of bad weather. It's a wonder the streams and pools don't dry up. A few days, sparsely separated, a few clouds rolled in and we hoped that it would rain, but they just flew on by, probably going to rain somewhere else.

"I miss the rain." I muse, startling myself that I voiced my thoughts out loud.

"Yeah me too."

"You know what?" I ask and Peeta looks at me, shaking his head with a smile.

"What?"

"I always wanted to get kissed in the rain. Which is strange for me because I never thought about kisses, I guess I though it'd be cool." I tell him shyly.

"Well hopefully we can fix that problem soon." He replies, giving my hand a quick squeeze.

"That'd be nice." I sigh and we continue wandering down the beach. We didn't even bother bringing our shoes, I guess that probably wasn't very smart but we aren't going back now.

"We really do get the best weather here don't we?" I say.

"Yeah, we do. Not to hot, not cold, just perfect." Peeta agrees.

"I still miss the rain though."

He chuckles quietly to himself, "Me too Kat. There are a lot of things I miss. You really don't think about all the things you have until you don't anymore."

"That's for sure. But I never really did have much of anything until after the rebellion so I guess I'm more used to it."

"We weren't rich Kat."

"Yeah but you had a warm home growing up, and enough to eat!" I object.

"I guess, but you get tired of stale bread for every meal after a while."

"I'm sure! Didn't you ever eat meat?" I ask in astonishment.

"Mostly only the stuff you used to sell to my Dad. The stuff at the butcher was to expensive for even some town folk."

"Wow." Is all I can get out.

"Come on, enough of this boring talk, let's have some fun." Peeta grins and before I can reply he picks me up, swinging me over his shoulder like a dead animal and then he takes off running.

"Put me down you big animal!" I yell through my laughter. I try pounding his back but it's halfhearted at best. I end up giving up and decide to enjoy the, somewhat bumpy, ride.

"Where are we going?" I call a few minutes later when he still hasn't put me down.

"Be patient, we're almost there." He calls back, his breath heavy and puffing as he runs. I huff and let myself hang limp, a few minutes later I yell again, "All the blood has gone to my head! If you don't put me upright soon I'll faint!"

"It's okay, we're here." He replies setting me down gently while trying to catch his breath.

"Where is _here?"_ I ask, looking around us. "Have you been here before?" Peeta smiles and shakes his head, "Nope, but I have good eyes and saw it whilst we were walking."

"Wow." I breathe and take in our surroundings. Palm trees loaded with coconuts cover the land along with hibiscus flowers making the area full of colors. A small pool is in the middle of all of this and looks especially inviting.

"Pretty neat isn't it?" I nod, unable to speak.

"Race you to the pool."

I don't have to be told twice, I take off at full speed, yanking my clothes off all the way. I get to the edge of the clear water and wait for Peeta to catch up.

"Is it safe?" I ask hesitantly.

"Only one way to find out." Peeta grins and plunges into the water, getting completely submerged under the blue crystal water. His head pops back to the surface a few seconds later.

"Come on! It feels great!"

A grin comes over my features and closing my eyes I jump in letting the water cover my whole body. I come back up a moment later right in front of Peeta.

"Nice isn't it?" I nod, "Wonderful."

"It's too bad it's not closer." He sighs.

"How about we not tell anyone about it, it could be our special spot." I suggest.

"Like the waterfall was?" He smirks.

"Yeah, but I like this place better. Besides we can actually hear each other talk."

"Yeah, I agree." He smiles and gives me a kiss. The pool is quite small, not big enough to swim in. I'm guessing it is about 4 or 5 yards in diameter, just enough to move around freely.

"How's you cheek?" I ask, gently touching his wound with my wet fingertips.

"Totally fine. I don't feel a thing." He assures me.

"Good." I reply and wrap my arms around his neck. Peeta in turn snakes his arms around me bare waist, drawing me close to him.

"Let's dance." He whispers, his hot breath fanning on my neck.

"What?" I look up at him like he just asked an outrageous question.

"Dance." He repeats.

"Here, now, in the water?"

"Sure, why not?"

"I shrug, I guess we could." He smiles and his arms tighten around me. I rest my head on his chest and together we begin swaying around in the water. I can't reach the bottom and Peeta barely can so he is literally carrying me. Me feet dangle below me as we slowly move around in circles; my eyes close and I just enjoy the present.

I sigh in contentment as Peeta begins leaving soft kisses down my neck and shoulder and back up to my ear then cheek and then I pull back and kiss his lips unable to take it anymore.

All of a sudden the sun is obscured from sight and it becomes a lot darker outside. Peeta and I pull apart slightly but my arms stay clasped around his neck and his around my waist.

"Looks like you're going to get that kiss in the rain." He smiles and I look up at the sky. Sure enough big, dark clouds are coming in closer and closer completely blocking out the light of the sun. It's only a few minutes before the first raindrop falls and lands on my cheek.

"It's raining!" Peeta exclaims as he kisses the spot on my cheek where the raindrop landed.

"And we're already wet!" I reply, equally excited.

"Our clothes are going to get wet though."

"Eh who cares?" I say close my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the raindrops falling onto my face and arms. When I open my eyes the rain is coming down in torrents. Peeta laughs hugs me tighter, then he leans in, and so do I, and it's like we're about to have our first kiss all over again. I close my eyes in anticipation; I don't have to wait long before his lips are on mine, wet and soft, tasting like rainwater.

The kiss doesn't last long because we are both startled apart when a clap of thunder sounds and a streak of lightening follows a few seconds later.

"I think we'd better get back to camp before this gets any worse." Peeta says reluctantly and I nod. We swim back to land and pull ourselves up. Grabbing our soaking wet clothes we link hands and begin running through the pouring rain back towards the camp.

We don't make it far before the rain is coming down so hard that we can't see more than a few feet in front of us.

"We need to find shelter somewhere!" Peeta calls through the swirling wind and rain.

"Yeah, but where?" I yell back, trying to shield my face with my clothes.

"Come on." I don't question him but just let myself get pulled along back the way we'd come. With all the trees around it is a little easier to see but not much. I have no idea where Peeta is taking us but I trust him and just hope that he knows what he's doing. All my questions are answered soon when we come to a small cave.

"This should shelter us from the rain until it stops." Peeta tells me, still having to practically yell to be heard.

I just nod and follow him inside. It isn't really much of a cave, just a cleft in some big rocks, but it'll have to do for now. The 'cave' is only about five feet wide but seems to go pretty far back. We both have to crawl inside since it is only about four feet high. I shiver once we're inside and Peeta wraps me up in his arms after he lays our wet clothing on a nearby rock to dry. The ground is sand below us and the walls and ceiling are made up out of rock, I wish I had a flashlight because it is quite dark inside.

"What do we do now?" I ask, trying to calm my chattering teeth.

Peeta hugs me tighter and replies, "Now, we wait."

_**Yep, kind of a fluffy cheesy chapter, but we need one of those once in a while ;) Hope you liked it! Oh and please read the A/N at the bottom. **_

_**Dancinghld: Yeah, I'll do that soon! Thanks, glad you liked it! **_

_**A new reviewer: No problem! It was a good one. Yeah, guess we'll see. Thanks again for reviewing!**_

_**fuzzysocksandwriting: Oh good :**__** I'm glad. Yeah that's a cool idea, although I actually had an idea for that but I guess we'll see.**_

_**Well not for a while but I'm thinking that they will be born on the island, just to make it interesting. I'll have to do some time skipping again though or this story could get really long! Thanks again, glad you like it!**_

_**HGFan4719: Thank you! I do try to make them interesting, glad you thought so **__** Yeah I guess you'll find out! Thanks for the reviews~**_

_**Schrisham: Oh good! I wasn't sure how that would turn out. Yeah, thought the tiger would be pretty cool, thanks!**_

_**AlwaysForJC: Well he's fatally injured so I guess we'll see. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**FearlesswithHimJC: Yep, hopefully! Glad you liked it! Thanks!**_

_**Fangirl in a fandom world: Thank you!**_

_**Katniss72500: Awe I love you for that! Yeah, he's fine now! I couldn't have him hurt for long! **_

_**Thanks for the reviews guys!**_

_**Okay so a lot of you asked what the babies will be named so I thought that you could all send me in ideas and then I'd choose the two best ones! Or maybe we could vote or something. So for Finn and Annie's baby I think that it should have something o do with water or to that extent, as for Madge and Gale's I have no idea so suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I'll be awaiting your replies! Thanks again!**_

_**Until next chapter~**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	17. Baby Names-Chapter 17

_**Hello! I'm back! Sorry it's been so long, but I've been busy! I'm sure you understand **____** I hope you enjoyed the last chapters, thanks so much for all the wonderful feedback and name ideas, some of you will see your ideas in this chapter ;) There will be a bit of a time jump half way through this chapter, if we ever want to get through this I have to skip some time and not just go one day at a time. Lol. Thanks again all of you who reviewed. **_

_**Hope you like it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games.**_

_**Chapter #17**_

The thunder, lightening, and of course, pouring down rain, continues for hours. Peeta and I spend our time cuddled together trying to keep warm in the small damp cave. We don't talk much except when Peeta asks me if I'm warm yet. After about two hours I am finally mostly dry but stay snuggled in his lap.

"I hope the others aren't too worried." I say quietly, mostly to myself.

"I just hope that they got to shelter before the storm hit." Peeta replies. "They know that we can take care of ourselves and at least we're together and not separated."

"Yeah, I'm thankful for that." I smile and kiss his cheek. Peeta's arms tighten around my small, swimsuit clad body, keeping the heat between us, while giving my nose a quick peck.

"What time is it?" Peeta asks sometime later. I squint down at my watch, _ "5pm." _

"No wonder I'm beginning to get hungry." He chuckles to himself.

"Yeah me too. Hopefully this storm lets up soon." Peeta nods, "Hopefully."

"Okay Peeta, tell me honestly. Do you really think that we'll ever get off of this island and back to District 12?" I ask.

Peeta sighs and runs his fingers through his now mostly dry hair. "I don't know for sure Katniss, but I have a feeling that District 4 will be sending a rescue boat anytime now."

"That'd be nice." I whisper, closing my eyes again.

Peeta rests his back on the cave wall and I stay on top of him, not wanting to sit on the cold ground in practically my underwear. He keeps his arms securely around me though, holding my body in place.

"Well at least we're being fed and have a place that is dry to sleep." Peeta muses quietly. "And we're together, along with our best friends." I nod, my eyes still closed, "I know, I should stop complaining, but Prim and Mother probably believe that we are all dead now and it drives me crazy that we can't send word or anything."

"I understand." Peeta soothes, rubbing my arms comfortingly. I smile and after getting into a more comfortable position, still mostly on top of Peeta, I fall asleep.

"Kat! Katniss wake up!" My eyes fly open and I end up rolling off of Peeta, landing on my backside on the hard ground. I groan and glare at him.

"What was that for?"

"Look!" He points to the tiny entrance where sun is streaming inside.

"We can go back now!" I exclaim, giving him a hug. "Sorry I didn't mean to snap."

"It's okay, I should have held on to you." He chuckles and the two of us gather our clothes into a bundle and climb out of our little cave shelter.

The sun is beginning to set once we have made our way out of the grove of trees and onto the beach.

"Let's try and make it back before it gets dark." Peeta suggest and I nod in agreement.

"Good idea, I don't feel like spending the night on the beach." He smiles and grabs my hand, shifting the bundle of our clothing to his other arm. Together we start out at a brisk walk down the beach and towards our campsite. The sun has just disappeared when we arrive at the entrance to the Odair's shelter.

"You're back!" Annie shrieks, launching herself into my arms. I awkwardly pat her back, "Yeah we're back. Spent a few hours in a gave some ways from here to wait out the storm."

"Oh I'm so glad you're okay! We were so worried but couldn't leave." She tells us.

"I'm quite surprised how well this place held up." Finnick says, coming out as well to greet us.

"Hopefully we're just as lucky." Peeta chuckles, giving my hand a squeeze.

"Um since you probably are hungry and we still have all the food would you like to take some back with you?" Finnick asks.

"Well I guess that'd be smart, then tomorrow we can begin eating on our own." Peeta relents.

"Good, I'll just pack some of this fruit and leftover fish into our backpack and you can return it tomorrow." Annie announces and hurried back inside.

"Thanks!" Peeta calls after her.

"So where exactly did you two go this afternoon?" Finnick asks curiously while we wait for Annie to return.

"Ask him." I say, jabbing my thumb at Peeta.

"Peeta?"

"We just walked down the beach that way." He tells Finnick, pointing in the direction we had gone. "And I saw a grove of palm trees in the distance so we decided to see what was there."

"Wait, wait a minute." I say holding my hand up. "You saw it then through me over your shoulder and ran until we got to your destination."

"Ha ha." Finnick laughs.

"And there was a small pool that we swam in until in began to rain, and once we realized that it was futile to try and return back here, I found a cave that we stayed in." Peeta finishes and I nod in agreement.

"Well it sounds like you had fun." Finnick grins.

"Yep, we sure did." Peeta smiles back and drapes his arm around my waist just as Annie returns with a backpack full of food.

"Thanks Annie." I give her a quick hug while Peeta takes the pack from her. "We'll bring this back tomorrow." He assures her.

"No rush." She smiles and Finnick draws her nearer to him.

"Guess we'll see you two tomorrow." I say.

"Yep. Good night!" Annie and Finnick both wave goodbye and Peeta and I make our way back to our place.

"Do you think that we should let Madge and Gale know that we're back?" Peeta asks as we are passing their little shack nestled in the trees.

"Sure, why not. But lets do it quickly, I'm starved."

"No worries, I could probably eat that whole pack full right now." He replies with a smirk.

We stop in front of the Hawthorne's makeshift door and Peeta knocks. I can distinctly hear giggling inside, most likely Madge being tickled or something. About a minute later after Peeta has knocked three more times the door swings open to reveal Gale in only his shorts and Madge sitting down on their bed.

"Hey! You're back!" Gale smirks.

"Yeah, got a little held up by the storm and just wanted to let you know that we're back safely.

"I was so worried!" Madge is now standing next to Gale in the doorway. "Gale wouldn't let us come looking for you. I told him that you could be in trouble but he said that he knew that you could take of yourselves, the storm was too strong, and of course I'm pregnant."

"It's okay Madge." I tell her sincerely. "We were totally fine. But thanks."

She just smiles and gives me, then Peeta a quick hug,

"What are you two up to?" I ask a few seconds later.

"Oh just talking." Gale says quickly.

"Yeah, discussing baby names." Madge blushes slightly.

"Isn't it a little early for that?" Peeta asks.

"Yeah I guess." Madge replies with a shrug. "But we didn't have anything else to do, and it's always good to be prepared!"

"Good for you." I give them both a smile. "Peeta and I are going to go eat our dinner now before we faint from hunger." Peeta nods as I say this.

"All righty, see you tomorrow!" They wave and once again we begin the short walk to our shelter. I spot Colette faintly through the trees sitting outside her tiny shack whittling something with a knife she found. She waves friendly to us and we wave back the duck into our own room, finally.

"I'll probably go straight to sleep after we eat." I mention to Peeta as we set the pack in the corner then head out to make a small fire.

"Good, because even though we slept this afternoon, I'm exhausted." I chuckle quietly and quickly pick up a few dried sticks for our fire. A few minutes later Peeta has a nice small fire started and I retrieve the fish for roasting.

"I'm glad we decided to do this." Peeta muses while rotating his fish on a stick over the crackling fire.

"Yeah, me too." I agree. "It's nice to have dinner just the two of us." Peeta just smiles and continues to slowly turn his fish over and over until deemed cooked and edible. We eat the fish quickly along with a piece of fruit for dessert, filling up quickly.

"Good, we'll have fruit for breakfast tomorrow then you and Gale should probably go hunting." I nod and finish off the last of my banana then throw the peel as far as I can out of sight. We sit side by side next to the fire, still in our swimsuits, and let our damp clothes finish drying. After about half an hour we are both quite warm and our clothes are dry. I slip out of my swimsuit and just pull Peeta's t-shirt over my body while Peeta stays in his shorts. We stomp out the fire then after closing the door, settle in for the night.

_**2 weeks later…**_

"Well, we've been stuck in for a month and a half and still no sign of rescue." Finnick muses, mostly to himself. All seven of us are settled down on the beach, just watching the waves roll up and down.

"At least we aren't running out of food!" Annie says, trying to find the good in all of this.

"Yeah." Madge agrees. "I just hope I can give birth in District 12 and not on an island where none of us have any experience whatsoever with babies, or giving birth, or helping or anything like that."

"Actually." Everyone turns to Colette, with surprised expressions on their faces; she doesn't talk much. "I'm the oldest of five kids and my mom gave birth at home for all but the last so you could say I have some experience with this kind of stuff."

"Okay." Annie says, dragging out the word. "That's good, I guess." She looks at Finnick and Finnick just shrugs.

"Better than nothing." Madge agrees, looking at Gale and giving him a scared face. She still hasn't warmed up all the way to Colette after what she did to us. I don't think she'd do anything now though. I mean it's 6 against 1, not like she'd be able to do a lot of damage.

"Have you begun to think of any names?" Colette asks Annie.

"Kind of, we're not sure yet." Annie replies.

"Any ideas yet?"

"Well we had a few." Finnick offers hesitantly.

"Let's hear 'em." Gale probes.

"For girl names we were thinking of Marina, Misty, Brooke or Myra. As you can see they both have something to do with the water." Finnick says.

"Like most District 4 names." Annie adds, smiling.

"Nice." Gale says. "Any boy names?"

"Zale, Finn Jr., Bay, not sure yet." Finnick shrugs. "What about you two?"

"We've talked about it some." Madge says quietly.

"I like Maysilee, like my Aunt that died in the games, and we could call her May for short, Willow is pretty too."

"Awe that's sweet!" Annie giggles. "Love it!"

"I like Cole, for a boy." Gale adds. "Or maybe name him after one of my brothers."

"Well you've got time." Peeta encourages. "But all the names are really good, it'll be hard to choose." I nod along with him.

"So what about you two?" Finnick directs his question to us with a grin. My face begins to heat up and I can't seem to find the words to answer, thankfully Peeta saves the day.

"Remember guys, we've barely been married two months. I think we'll be waiting a bit. Besides how long have you and Annie been married?"

"Five years." Finnick replies.

"Exactly." Peeta smirks, "And Madge and Gale have been married over three. It's kind of strange that you decided to start now though."

"We didn't know we'd be stranded on an island!" Annie shrieks.

"I'm kidding!" Peeta laughs, holding up his hands in mock defense.

"We know." Annie assures him.

We sit there for the next few hours, just talking and laughing as friends, acting for a time like we aren't on an island but that everything is just normal. And for just a few minutes, I actually do forget.

_**I'm sorry it's sooooo short! Probably the shortest in this story! But I kind of ran out ideas for this chapter and also wanted to post one tonight **____** Sorry for any mistakes. Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	18. Memories-Chapter 18

_**Hello! Here is a real chapter! Haha, sorry about the last one, I accidentally uploaded it to the wrong story :P but it's all fixed now. I forgot who asked me this but this chapter is for you. You'll know who you are when you get a little further into the chapter **__** Hope you like it!**_

_**Thanks again for the wonderful reviews even though we only got 4! That is sad guys! But I'm updating now and with a longer chapter, so lets see if we can do better next time **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games… **_

_**Chapter #18~2 Months Later…**_

The next few months went by relatively normally. It is now evident that Annie is pregnant even though she is only approximately four months along now since she has always been fit and slim, everyone can see the little bit of roundness on her tummy. Finnick is very protective of her like any husband would be, and rarely lets her do anything that could possibly exert her too far.

Gale is much the same, being the over protective husband to Madge and doing everything for her. It's kind of cute to watch sometimes.

Everyone decided that they liked our meal arrangements better than before, so now breakfast and dinner, and even sometimes lunch is spent with our spouses. I go hunting with Gale every two or three days, usually bringing back a nice hall to last us all a few days.

Colette keeps mostly to herself, occasionally joining us for a meal. Peeta and I finally got around to adding on to our shelter making it a bit bigger, now we have two rooms instead of one and the other is used mostly for cooking and is open on one side. The two of us have made Friday's our special 'date night' and usually head to the pool that we found a while back when I had my first kiss in the rain. Sadly no more rain has come our way except for a small drizzle a few weeks back. Hopefully the waterfall keeps on flowing and the few streams we have found keep moving, bringing us fresh water.

Madge is now a professional swimmer, thanks to Gale giving her lessons whenever she felt up to it, which were most days. Every few days all 6 of us, and sometimes Colette, go for a swim, and occasionally make an entire round of our small island. We all have very tanned skinned after months of being outside all the time, and Finnick's naturally bronze skin is even darker. If someone saw us they might think we all came from District four.

Gale and I are darker than Peeta and Madge with their blond hair and fair skin. Gale and I already had olive skin but now it is more bronze colored. My hair is almost to my waist now and I have been meaning to cut it but I don't trust Peeta to cut it evenly and it's in a braid most of the time anyways.

I really can't believe that we have been married almost five months already, it seems like we just met when really it's been almost four years, and three since the rebellion and everything. Peeta seems to be sweeter all the time, surprising me with little things he finds, pretty shells, leaves and flowers, things like that. And even though we're on an island and married, you'd think that we were dating again.

Lying on my back on the golden sand, I watch the waves roll up on shore bringing seaweed and shells, then curl back out to sea. Peeta and the girls went to collect fruit for our respective home and Gale and I had been out hunting but returned early. There is a slight breeze that brushes wisps of hair across my face and tickles my nose. Closing my eyes I sigh and go back in time to our wedding…

"_Hold still would ya! It'll take longer if you keep squirming!" My mother scolds while helping me with my wedding dress. There is a whole line of little clasps from my shoulder blades down to my waist and they keep poking my skin and making me squirm uncomfortably. _

"_Couldn't I just wear my hunting outfit?" I whine. "It'd be much more comfortable!"_

"_Are you kidding me Katniss! Now that we have more money I want this wedding to be how I only thought could be a dream. Just let me have the satisfaction of dressing my oldest daughter for her wedding." _

"_Okay." I relent and let her finish the clasps. The dress is pure white and brushes my toes. There are one-inch straps and the back of the dress is bare at the top. Tiny light green sequins litter the breast area and shimmer in the sunlight. My arms are bare except for a small pearl bracelet with matching necklace and earrings. It swirls around my feet when I walk and I have to say I feel like a princess, I just hope Peeta likes it. Thankfully Mother didn't force me into heels so I am wearing comfortable mint green flats that match the sequins. _

_Prim has already painted my fingers and toes even though I told her not to bother, at least with my toes since they will not be visible, but she wanted all of me to be perfect and I let her do as she liked._

_Madge came about an hour ago for my hair and make-up and just left to get ready herself. My hair is all piled on top of my head with a few ringlets framing my face. She only put on a dab of make-up since I haven't really gotten used to wearing it yet and prefer not to. But I have to admit; when I look in the mirror I look quite stunning._

"_There, all done." Mother announces with a sad smile._

"_Oh mom, don't cry now!"_

"_I can't help it!" She retrieves a tissue and wipes her eyes. "My baby is getting married!"_

"_It's not like I'm moving away though. Peeta and I will be living next door." I tell her._

"_I know that. But it'll still be different." She says, taking a deep breath. "But don't worry, I won't cry."_

"_Thanks." I say with a small smile._

_We are having the wedding outside at the meadow, which has been opened for public use. The guys have set up chairs for the few guests and built a little gazebo for the ceremony. Peeta wouldn't let me see it before the wedding but I decided that it was fair since he doesn't get to see me in my dress before it starts either. _

"_How do I look?" I turn around to see Prim has entered the room and is wearing a beautiful light green dress just like Madge and Posy Hawthorne who is our little flower girl._

"_Beautiful." I tell her honestly. "Walking across the room and giving her a hug._

"_Careful! You might wrinkle it!" She says, taking a step back._

"_Sorry." I say with a chuckle. _

"_So, when do we go?" I ask._

"_Ooh, someone's a little anxious." Prim says grinning._

_My face heats up and I can't find anything to say, thankfully mom speaks for me. _

"_Who wouldn't be Prim? Your sister is getting married! You just wait, you're time will come soon enough."_

_The 15-year-old girl blushes slightly and just like if it was a planned, the door opens and in walks Rory Hawthorne, the boy with whom Prim spends most of her time._

"_Ready to go Prim?" He asks and Prim nods. The boy extends his arm, and a blushing Prim takes it and the two of them walk happily out the door._

"_Aren't they cute?" Mom sighs, watching them walk towards the meadow._

"_Mom! She's fifteen! "_

"_I know I know. I can't believe how fast she is growing up."_

"_Don't worry." I assure her. "She'll be living here for at least a few more years."_

"_I hope so. Now, are you all ready to go?" I nod. "As ready as I can be to get married."_

"_Good, let's go." Mom grabs her purse off the table and we begin the walk to the meadow. Everyone should be there all ready since the bride is supposed to come in last. Since my Dad isn't here to walk me down the isle and give me away, I asked Gale to do the honors since he has been my older best friend since we were kids and there isn't really anyone else I'd pick. _

_When we get to the meadow, everyone is seated and quiet music is playing. Gale is standing at the back waiting for me, Prim, Madge, and Posy are standing with smiles on their faces on one side of the gazebo, and Rory, Vick are on the other side, with a place for Gale after he walks me up. Mom hurries ahead of me and takes her seat. Mayor Undersee and Peeta wait at the front and Peeta's whole face lights up when he sees me. I give him a smile and begin making my way down the rows of chairs, smiling people and flashing cameras. Only a few close friends and family from District 12 are here, that's how we wanted it. _

_We aren't having the normal toasting like most people in the Seam do weddings. Things are different now and after Madge and Gale had their wedding like this where here Dad married them and there was a ceremony along with an after party, I knew that when my wedding came that I'd want it just like that, and Peeta agreed. I can't seem to get rid of the huge grin on my face as I walk towards Peeta, my arm linked with Gale's and my other hand clutching a bouquet of dandelions picked from the meadow._

_After what seems like a long time but what is only about a minute we have arrived. Gale gives me a hug and kisses my cheek the gives my hand to Peeta and walks over to stand next to his brothers. _

_Peeta gives my hand a squeeze and I squeeze back while we both turn to Mayor Undersee who holds the marriage book in his hands. He asks Peeta a few questions with which Peeta answers each one with 'I do.' Then it's my turn._

"_Katniss, do you take Peeta, to be your lawfully wedded husband?"_

"_I do." I reply._

_A few more questions, just like the once asked of Peeta are asked of me, and I reply with 'I do' to every single confidently. _

"_You may now exchange the rings." _

_Vick walks forward with a silk pillow and hands Peeta my ring, then he in turn slips it onto my outstretched finger. Perfect fit._

_Then Vick hands me Peeta's ring and I slide it gently on his finger like he did mine. Then Vick walks back to his spot._

"_I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride Peeta."_

_Peeta grins widely and places both of his hands on either side of my face. "I love you." He whispers, then leans down and places a gentle kiss on my lips._

"_I give to you, Mr. and Mrs. Peeta Mellark!" The mayor announces and everyone erupts into cheers. _

_Peeta picks me up in his arms and swings me around, peppering kisses all over my face. I throw my bouquet behind me and not surprisingly, Prim catches it. She smiles shyly and clutches the flowers close to her, glancing quickly over at Rory who winks at her, causing her entire face to turn red._

_Then before I know it, Peeta is running with my securely in his arms all the way back to our new home in the 'victor's village'. _

_We change quickly and somewhat reluctantly make our way to my old house where everyone has gathered for cake and drinks. The party lasts well into the night, nobody seemed to want to leave. But mother, sensing our need to get away, at about 10pm sneaks us out the back door where we run across the yard to our home. Of course Peeta has to pick me up again and carry me over the threshold, but this time, I don't mind. In fact, I couldn't be happier._

I smile at the memory that seems like a lifetime ago but really wasn't.

"What are you smiling about?"

I sit up quickly at Peeta's voice and find him standing directly behind me.

"Just thinking." I reply and pat the spot beside me. He plops down obligingly and kisses my cheek.

"Get the fruit?" I ask.

"Sure did. A lot of it too." He answers.

"I'm surprised that we haven't picked those trees bare yet!"

"It's a good think though!"

I nod, "Yeah, it is." "Where is everyone else?"

"Madge went back to her place to find Gale, and Finnick and Annie went for a walk down the beach." Peeta replies.

"Oh okay."

"Did you and Gale bring back any game?"

"Yeah, quite a bit actually. All of his snares had something in them, we shot some edible looking birds and so everything should last us all a few days. Hopefully make a few stews as well."

"That's good." He says quietly. I lay my head down on his lap and let his fingers run through my hair.

"Kat!" I sit up turn around at the sound of a woman's scream to find Madge running frantically towards us.

Peeta and I stand up quickly and make our way towards her.

"Slow down Madge. What's wrong?" Peeta asks.

"I can't find him!" She cries, breathing heavily.

"Who? Gale?" I ask and she bobs her head.

"He's not at the house and I can't find him anywhere!"

"Well he couldn't have gotten too far." I tell her. "We only got back about an hour ago and he told me he was heading to your place."

"But he isn't there!" Madge insists.

"Don't worry, we'll find him." Peeta says soothingly. Putting an arm around her as we make our way back to the camp.

When we get to their shelter sure enough Gale is nowhere in sight.

"Where could he have gone?" Peeta asks.

"I don't know." Madge slumps down on a stump, her shoulders sagging.

"Maybe he just went for a short walk when he saw that you weren't back yet." I suggest.

"Maybe." She agrees.

"How about you stay here with Peeta and I'll see if he is nearby." I say.

"Okay." She relents and Peeta sits down beside her. "We're going to find him Madge." He soothes as tears fall from her blue eyes. Must be the emotional side of being pregnant. I think to myself as I leave them and sprint of into the woods. I don't find anything out of the ordinary in the first five minutes so I just keep going. I come across Colette about ten minutes into my search and she looks up from whatever she was working on. "What brings you here?" she asks.

"Looking for Gale. Madge can't find him." I explain breathlessly.

"Oh, I saw him walk that way." She says.

"How long ago?

"'Bout half an hour."

"Thanks." I say and am just about to run off again when Colette speaks.

"Need some help?"

"Sure, that'd be great." She smiles and stands up.

"Well, let's go."

So the two of us begin racing through the trees, making a wide circle around the perimeter of the camp. After about 20 minutes of constant running we have made it back to Madge and Peeta and still no trace of Gale. Madge is sobbing now and Peeta is trying to comfort her.

"Let's check the beach in the direction that Annie and Finnick took their walk." I suggest and Colette agrees. We begin running side by side again down the beach, leaving our shoes behind making it easier the make our way through the sand. I spot the couple a little ways off a few minutes later and they wave to us. I wave back and Colette and I run faster to catch up with them.

"Going for a jog?" Finnick jokes once we're caught up with them.

"No, looking for Gale." Colette replies hotly.

"Gale?" Annie asks with a worried voice.

"Yeah, Madge got back and couldn't find him. Colette and I have been all over the camp area and haven't come across him.

"Oh no." Finnick's face goes slightly pale.

"What?" I ask.

"Well, on our walk, Annie and I saw some freshly made tracks made by the tiger. Apparently he isn't dead yet." He tells us gravely.

"You don't think…" I can't finish my sentence.

"It's possible that while Madge was away he decided to go kill the tiger himself." Annie finishes for me.

"But he's still wounded from the last fight with that beast!" I shriek.

"I know. It wasn't smart. But if we want to save him we'd better stop talking and get moving." Finnick says. "Annie, you go back to camp and tell Peeta where we are. It'd probably be best if you didn't give Madge all the details."

Annie nods and gives her husband a hug. "I will, be safe."

Finnick leans down and gives her a quick kiss. "We will." He promises, then watches her as she runs back down the beach toward the camp.

"Let's go." Finnick says and the three of us once again begin running.

Just a few short minutes later he stops us. "This is where we saw the prints." He whispers and Colette and I follow his pointing finger with our eyes. Sure enough, large paw prints that are evenly spaced start a few feet from where we stand and go across the sand and disappear in a grove of trees.

"We should follow them." I say and the other two nod in agreement. We all begin walking beside the tracks trying not to step on them and mess them up. We are so focused on following the tracks that when we look up we are in a small grove of trees.

"This is where they stop." I say.

"Well then it should be close."

"What's that?" Colette cries, pointing to a pool of dark red, fresh blood on the ground not too far from us.

"Blood." I say quietly.

"Look, there are drops, let's follow them and see where they lead." Finnick suggests and once again we are on our way. A few minutes later we come to a clearing where the blood is in more frequent drops and there is a lot of it. We look up and I almost joke when I see what is in front of us. The tiger lies dead on its side only a few yards in front of us.

"He really did kill him." Colette says, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, but where is Gale I wonder. I doubt he got away without being hurt." I say.

"You're right Katniss, let's go."

The three of us make our way past the dead cat and towards a few more drops of blood that leads us into more trees. We haven't been going for very long before Colette lets out a small scream of surprise.

I look to where she is looking and feel like I could be sick on the spot. Gale is lying face first on the ground, a nasty looking wound on the side of his head, and a pool of blood around him like a halo.

"Gale!" I scream before I can help myself and hurry over to him.

Finnick helps push him over to his back and leans down to listen for a heart beat.

"It's there." He tells us. "He's alive, but barely."

_**So what did you think? The wedding? Did you like how I added that in finally?! And predictions on Gale's situation?! I love hearing from you! Hope you all liked it **_

_**~canadianboy98: Thanks bro! Hope you liked this one too!**_

_**~A new reviewer: Thank you **_

_**~FearlesswithHimJC: Yeah I like May as well **__** Thanks, glad you liked it! And thanks also for the names ;)**_

_**~HGFan4719: Thanks! Glad you liked it :) Thanks for reviewing every chapter!**_

_**Thank you my four faithful reviewers for taking the time to review each chapter **_

_**Until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	19. My Hero-Chapter 19

_**Hey Guys! Wow it's been quite a while since I last updated, over a week! I'm sorry, just been busy and haven't had much time to write. Thanks for the reviews, I think there were about 10, which is great! I loved hearing you all hope that Gale will be alright. Well sorry to keep you waiting, your questions will be answered in this chapter, and this time I won't leave you in a cliffhanger **_

_**I'll respond to reviews at the bottom and let you get to reading. Here is a longer chapter for you all.. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or the characters, except for Colette who came from my own imagination **_

_**Chapter #19**_

Madge is in hysterics when we arrive with her unconscious husband. Annie holds her steadily while the rest of us carry Gale inside of their small hut and lay him down.

"We're going to need something with which to clean the wound on his head then some type of clean bandages to wrap it up with." Finnick says seriously. Annie nods and ducks back outside leaving me to watch Madge. She is as wild as ever, sobbing uncontrollably while never taking her wide eyes off of Gale. I keep her in one corner of the shelter while Finnick and Peeta get Gale comfortable and wait for Annie to return. She does, just a few minutes later, with an armful of scraps from that old dress that she washed in the sea and some medicine from Colette. Colette had helped us bring Gale inside then after making sure we didn't need any of her help, went back to her own shelter.

Peeta comes over to sit next to Madge and I while Finnick and Annie clean the blood away from Gale's injury then wraps the scraps of fabric around his head. Madge has quieted down some and so we let her go lie next to her husband now that all we can do is wait for him to wake up. She kisses his head then snuggles down beside his unconscious form and closes her eyes; the occasional hiccup is the only sound there is. We say good-bye even though she doesn't seem to acknowledge any of us and we all make our way back to our respective huts.

"You think he'll be okay?" I ask Finn and Annie before we part ways.

"We can only hope." Finnick whispers.

"But he's strong, I'm sure he'll pull through." Annie encourages. I give her a small and thankful smile before linking my arm with Peeta's and heading to our own shelter. I can barely spot Colette's small form through the trees, sitting outside of her little hut just like nothing unusual happened. She waves to us and we wave back then just a few steps later we duck inside to our little home. The first thing I notice is the pile of fruit in one corner, all stacked nicely and ready to be eaten.

"Wow you sure were successful." I say and Peeta nods. "Yeah, we're not sure how long it'll be before the fruit is gone so we're trying to get as much as we can while we still have it."

"That's smart."

"Where is your catch?" He asks, looking around the small room. "I left it in the kitchen, I still need to clean the animals though, want to help?"

Peeta grimaces when I ask this and I just laugh push away the piece of fabric dividing the bedroom from our little open aired kitchen.

During one of our explorations of the island we found another half buried iron pot and everyone insisted that Peeta and I take it. It's been nice to make stews and soups in it with our limited kinds of meat and few herbs, but at least we don't go hungry. Two weeks ago I went with the girls to pick fruit and the guys stayed here and built a few benches so that we have something proper to sit on when we eat. It is pretty much just a flattened and smooth log but looks nice in our kitchen. Besides they didn't exactly have many tools to work with. Finnick found a really nice long piece of wood and after many days of diligent work mostly with his knife, he smoothed it out and even carved their names into it along with decorative fish, shells and other designs that seem to remind them of District 4. When Finnick was finish he placed it at the head of their make shift bed like a head bored, everyone was pretty impressed. Every little chance I get I try and make our shelter feel more like a real home. It's kind of difficult since we don't have much to work with, but we do our best. Colette has probably done the best on hers since she had a lot of provisions off of the ship brought with her.

Madge is finally warming up to her and I even see them talking once in a while. I think that she still doesn't trust her 100% but it's a start. Colette has definitely seemed to have proven herself worthy.

Settling down onto our little two person wooden bench, I pick up my knife and skinning materials then grab one of the two rabbits off of the ground. I also notice that 4 fish are lying on some kind of a tarp in the shade to keep cool. Finnick must have dropped them off before going on his walk with Annie. I am quite surprised that we don't seem to attract animals with all the fresh meat we keep around and easy to get. Maybe the animals around her are just as scared of us as we are of them, except the tiger of course.

When both rabbits are skinned and gutted and the meat is chopped into bite sized pieces, I throw them into the pot with the fresh water and a handful of leaves that Gale and I found during our hunt. Annie has talked about starting a garden but we don't exactly have any seeds to plant. I have to admit though that some carrots or potatoes in our stew would be that more delicious. I'm not sure what grows here exactly but maybe we'll find some seeds along with the things of the previous occupants of the island.

"How's it going?" I look up from my work to see Peeta standing in the doorway.

"All done." I say, pointing to the pot. "I'll just cover it until we want to eat dinner."

"Sounds good." He smiles and comes to sit down next to me on the log bench.

The sun is just beginning to set while we sit there in our three-walled kitchen, side by side, not speaking, just enjoying the silence. A comfortable cool breeze floats in through the window and open wall, ruffling the kitchen/bedroom divider.

Peeta slings his arm loosely around my waist, drawing me closer to him. I sigh contentedly and lay my head on his shoulder. We stay like this for a little while until it is almost completely dark outside. It doesn't exactly get pitch black at night here on our island, which is nice.

The silence is interrupted by a low rumble in Peeta's stomach.

"Are you hungry?" I ask laughing slightly.

"I guess so." He replies with a smile.

"Well let's get the fire started, the rabbit shouldn't take too long to cook. If you can't wait we could have some fruit first."

"Nah, it's okay. I'll be fine." He assures me. Then placing a quick kiss on my lips he heads outside to the side of our shelter and begins preparing a fire in the little fire pit. We have a little bit of extra roof on the side, just no walls, so that if it rains or something we can still sit outside with a fire.

I carry the pot filled with meat and herbs and water and set it on the ground while Peeta lights the fire. Another thing that Colette had in her pack was an enormous amount of matches with which she generously shared with all of us. So far we haven't had to try and make one with rocks.

We let the fire burn and make coals for a little bit before hooking the pot above it and leaving it to cook. Peeta and I lean back comfortably against the log walls and just watch the fire crackle happily, only getting up to occasionally stir the delicious smelling stew.

"Wouldn't this taste even better with some potatoes or even tomatoes?" He asks, rubbing his stomach.

"Or fresh rolls from the bakery!" I add, almost drooling as I think of it.

"We can just pretend that we are eating those things while we eat the stew, it might help it taste better." Peeta suggests.

"I doubt it." I reply laughing.

Soon the water is boiling and after poking to meat with a fork and deeming it tender enough to eat I get up and retrieve two bowls and spoons. With the bigger ladle Peeta scoops up the water meat stew for both of us then we sit back again on the ground and against the shelter wall, shoulder to shoulder. After letting the contents of my bowl cool off a little in the evening air we dig in, not bothering to savor the juicy meat but just devouring it as fast as we can get it down our throats.

"You know we should probably eat at least two of the fish tonight so they don't go bad or attract and unwanted visitors." Peeta mentions while scraping out the rest of his stew and spooning himself another bowl.

"That's a smart idea, and we could walk the leftovers over to Colette just in case she doesn't have any tonight."

"You're sweet." Peeta smiles and kisses my nose. I blush slightly in the moonlight and move inside for the fish. I pick up two of them, already gutted, and stab them each with a sharp-ended stick. Handing one to Peeta who has already finished his second bowl of stew, and keeping one for myself, we move the pot to the side and slowly rotate our fish over the red, hot coals.

About ten minutes later our fish are ready to eat, so we set them in our empty bowls and begin eating.

"I knew I smelled food cooking over here." Peeta and I both look up, our mouths full.

Peeta swallows first, "Hi Colette! Why don't you join us?"

Colette smiles, "Thanks."

"There is extra stew in the pot and two fish just inside the door if you're hungry." I tell her.

"Well I wouldn't have been lured over if I wasn't hungry!" She chuckles and retrieves the fish and a plate. I hand her my stick and she spears her meal then holds it over the coals.

"What have you been up to?" Peeta asks politely.

"Oh not much." The young woman replies with a shrug. "Just sitting around."

"Well you are welcome over here whenever you'd like." Peeta smiles. I groan inwardly and glare at him although I'm pretty sure he didn't notice. I like Colette but I don't really want her invading in on our privacy whenever she wants to.

"Thanks guys. But I wouldn't want to impose." She says quietly, keeping her eyes on the rotating fish.

"Oh you wouldn't be imposing." Peeta assures her. This time he catches my glare and seems to understand the meaning of it. "I mean not like every day, but if you are feeling lonely then just come on over." I decide that this is a little better and give Peeta a smile.

Colette's meal is soon cooked to perfection so while she eats the fish, Peeta and I share a mango for dessert.

"Oh, no I remember the real reason I came over." Colette pipes up a little bit later.

"You mean it wasn't for the food?" I ask jokingly.

"Well that was what gave me the motivation."

Peeta laughs, "So, what did bring you our way?"

"Well," She begins, "The other day I went for a long walk, just sort of checking out the place and I came across an old shelter. It was pretty well camouflaged and broken down so that's probably why no one ever found it before. I literally stumbled upon it."

"What did you find?" Peeta asks eagerly.

"I'm getting to that. So I dug through some of the fallen branches and found absolutely nothing." Peeta's face falls and I almost laugh.

"But I thought you found something?" I say, a little annoyed at this game she seems to be playing with us.

"I didn't find anything at first." She explains, and when neither of us speaks, she continues, "But then as I was walking I came over some loose dirt that didn't look like the other dirt. It looked like it had been pulled up then patted down again. So after finding a sharp rock I began digging and after I had gone about a foot deep I hit wood. It took a few hours to pull it out but I did."

"What was it?" Peeta asks excitedly.

"Well, at first it just looked like a wooden box, but then with the sharp rock I tore the boards away and inside was just a regular backpack."

"Wow." I breathe, eager for her to continue with her story.

"It was a big pack and very full." Then she reaches down behind her and brings up a large pack. Now that I think of it, I didn't even notice it with her when she arrived.

"What's inside?" Peeta wonders out loud.

"I took out some of the stuff for my own use, an extra blanket and some kitchen supplies but brought the rest over here to see if any of you could use it." Colette says, placing the pack in the middle of our semi-circle. Peeta immediately opens it and starts pulling things out for us to examine.

There is one more blanket, a little rope, another knife, and surprisingly, a small bundle of baby clothes.

"Oh Annie and Madge will be so happy!" I exclaim, holding up a little pair of pants and shirt.

"That's what I thought." Colette smiles and Peeta brings out the next item. It is a see through plastic bag with a bunch of tiny things inside.

"What are they?" I ask no one in particular.

"Seeds, for planting." Colette tells us.

"No way! That's great. Now we can have a garden!" I cry joyously.

"It will be nice to have some added vegetables to our diet." Colette agrees. There isn't much else in the pack, we do find a small first aid kit that should be quite handy, maybe there is something inside that could help Gale get better quicker.

"Thanks so much for bringing this over and sharing with us." I tell Colette sincerely.

"Well what was I going to do with baby clothes?" She laughs, "And I don't know the first thing about planting a garden."

"Well thank you nonetheless." Peeta says smiling.

"No problem."

Just then there is a crunching of leaves nearby and before we can get any weapons Annie bursts onto our camp.

"Annie, what is it?" Peeta asks, quickly standing up.

"It's Gale, he woke up for a few minutes an hour ago but now he has a really high fever and looks really bad. He just moans and thrashes around, Madge is going crazy." She says all of this in one breath.

"We're right behind you." Peeta assures her and after throwing the things back inside but bringing the first aid kit along with an extra blanket we hurry off after Annie.

Finnick is already inside the hut trying desperately to calm Madge down and for the meantime it doesn't seem to be doing much good. He looks very much relieved to see us and immediately hands Madge over to me. I'd rather try and help my friend but instead of grumbling I grasp Madge's shoulders and lead her outside into the fresh night air.

"Is he going to die?" Madge whimpers into my shoulder. I hold her tightly, "He's going to fine Madge. And you need to be strong for him, and for your baby." She nods and begins wiping her tear stained face with the end of her nightshirt. Apparently she wears Gale's t-shirt to bed just like I do, and I have to say that she looks about 16. We sit on the ground together at the edge of the trees, Madge with her knees drawn up to her chest and me stretched out with my arms under my head.

Madge eventually falls asleep so I leave her and go to get Peeta so that he can carry the sleeping girl to bed. He does, and once Madge is settled on Finnick and Annie's bed, we hurry back to check on Gale. He doesn't seem to get any better, just moans quietly, his head rolling back and forth on the pillow of blankets we made him. His face is shear with sweat but he continues to shiver uncontrollably.

"We need more blankets." I hear Annie say.

"I'll get some." I volunteer without really realizing that I did, and hurry outside. I run all the way to our hut and grab all of our blankets then hurry back. The curtains covering a window whole on either side of their house are opened to let in fresh air and all of the blankets are piled on top and around Gale to try and warm him.

"What did you find in the first-aid kit?" I ask.

Annie answers, "A roll of bandages, we already used some to wrap up his head again. There was Band-Aids and some kind of cream for burns and poisonous plants. Also we found a little bottle of pills, but no one knows what they are."

"May I see them?" I ask and Annie nods, handing me a small plastic bottle with no label. I unscrew the cap and dump a few of the capsules into my hand.

"Annie!" I cry.

"What is it? What are they?" She asks excitedly.

"They are fever reducer pills. My mother has them!"

"Good job Kat, we should be able to save him now." Finnick says and wets his rag again, dabbing Gale's hot forehead.

"We have some fresh drinking water back at our place, you'd better get some." Annie tells me and I hurry to do it. I bring the water back and the guys place the pill back on Gale's tongue, then pour the water down his throat until he has swallowed it.

"Let's hope this works." Peeta says, sitting back.

"All we can do is wait now." Finnick sighs and stands up. "I'll bring Madge back over and the rest of us can get some sleep."

"I can stay here." I say, not really wanting to leave Gale.

"No Kat, you need your rest too." Peeta says firmly but gently. I just nod, not having enough energy to protest.

"I'll sleep right outside and let you all know when he wakes up." Colette announces with an air of finality in her voice that no one feels the need to contradict.

"We'll be over first thing in the morning, if not sooner." Peeta promises, taking my hand and leading me back outside.

Finnick heads back over to his place to retrieve Annie and Peeta and I to our hut to get some rest. I slip out of my clothes and pull Peeta's t-shirt over my head. I then remember that we don't have any blankets that Gale has them all, so I just lay down on the leaves and try to get comfortable. Once Peeta is changed he picks something up off the ground.

"I brought over one of the blankets that weren't being used." He says. "Didn't think you'd want to sleep on the bare ground." I smile up at him and stand up so that he can lay the old navy blanket over the leaves. Thankfully it is warm enough so that we don't need one to have over top of us and we can just cuddle together. Peeta is always warm so when I am snuggled up to him it's almost like a heated blanket.

"Sleep well." He whispers, kissing my forehead before lying back and closing his eyes. Despite my friend being very sick I fall asleep almost immediately, listening to Peeta's steady breathing and the beat of us heart.

_**4 Hours Later~2am**_

"Hey, guys! Wake up!" I groan and open my eyes. It is still quite dark outside and Peeta is asleep beside me.

"Who's there?" I call out quietly.

"It's Finnick." A voice is heard from outside.

"Come in." I say, just loud enough for him to hear me.

A few seconds later Finnick enters and I shake Peeta awake.

"What is it? Is it Gale?" I ask, suddenly very worried.

"Yeah. I just wanted to let you both know that his fever just broke and he is now sleeping soundly. He's out of danger."

Peeta and I both let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Oh good." I say. "Thanks for telling us."

"No problem. Now Annie is waiting for me to go to bed so I'll see you two in the morning."

"Thanks again Finn." Peeta says smiling. Finnick just smiles back and leaves. Peeta and I lay back down and he whispers, "You saved him, you know that?"

"Yeah, I guess I helped in the process."

"If you hadn't known what those pills were we could have lost him!"

"I don't know about that." I reply, my cheeks heating up.

"You're a hero Kat."

"It's what friends do." I justify.

"Well you're my hero." He whispers.

"Isn't the girl supposed to say that?" I ask with a smile.

"You're ruining the moment." He says with a chuckle. "I love you."

"I love you too." Lifting my head I lean down and kiss his lips softly.

"Good night." He whispers and I snuggle once again next to him. And tonight, I actually fall asleep with a smile on my face.

_**Yay! He's going to be okay! Are you relieved? Hoped you liked it! Sorry for any mistakes!**_

_**~canadianboy98: Thanks for reviewing! Yay for Katniss saving Gale!**_

_**~HGFan4719: Yep, I couldn't kill Gale off! He's like my favorite character! HAha. Yeah, I'm not sure when that all will take place exactly, but I plan having most of this story take place on the island, until I run out of ideas, lol. Glad you liked it! Thanks!**_

_**~Fire Fighters FFA daughter: Love your name! My dad used to be a firefighter when I was little **__** Thanks for the review! SO glad you are enjoying it.**_

_**~Prim (Guest): Thanks! I wasn't sure how the wedding would turn out but I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the encouragement!**_

_**~ .swag: Yay, he won't be dying! Don't worry, I could never do that **__** Thank you! Glad you liked it!**_

_**~Dancinghld: Thanks **__** Maybe I'll have a little bit of her and Rory once they get rescued…;) Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!**_

_**~Katniss72500: Thank you! It might be kind of difficult to choose the perfect ones but we have a little time **__** Hope you're happy now that Gale will be getting better, I love him too! Which seems kinda strange to love my own character, haha. Thanks again!**_

_**~Fangirl in a fandom world: Thank you! I try **_

_**~FearlesswithHimJC: Thank you! Yep, no one we love will die **__** Glad you liked it! See you soon!**_

_**Sorry if I missed anybody that reviewed. Thanks again all. Wow with the authors notes I think this is my longest chapter in this story so far! Yay! Please don't forget to leave a review before you go. BTW: We are at 198 reviews, so let's see who will be the lucky 200th!**_

_**Until next chapter (Which hopefully won't be too far away)**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	20. Suspicions-Chapter 20

_**Hello! Here I am with another chapter! Thanks so much for the reviews once again! I can't believe how far we are in this story we are already! Thanks again! Hope you enjoy it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #20~2 months later…**_

Weeks turned into months and both Madge and Annie are quite large, being a little over 6 months pregnant now. Now that they are less than 3 months away from giving birth Finnick and Gale are more protective than ever. Peeta and I spend most of our time together except when I hunt with Gale around twice a week. Colette has seemed to be more and more distant; I mean she never did become great friends with us but now more than ever she stays to herself. None of us ever thought to be suspicious of the things she does when she's alone until today.

"Find anything in your snares worth eating?" I ask Gale. We had gone separate ways to check on the snares then met up in our special meeting place.

"Sure did." He grins, holding up two squirrels.

"Well look what I got." I say with a smirk and show him my three plump rabbits and a meaty looking bird.

"It was just those snares." Gale replies with a shrug.

"Yeah whatever." I say and after putting our catch in the bag we begin our 20-minute trek back to camp. "Hey, want to make a quick stop at the waterfall and cool of a bit?"

Gale shakes his head, "Nah, I need to get back to Madge."

"Gale, she's only pregnant, you can't be like this all the time or she's going to feel claustrophobic." I tell him.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"How would you know, you've never been pregnant." He counters.

"Yes, but I'm a girl, I know things."

"Fine then, but only for a few minutes. I don't want her to worry." Gale relents and we change our direction just a little so that we can get to the waterfall. We must already be pretty close because I can here the water cascading off of the rocks from where we are.

We leave our game in the pack on the ground and hurry to the cool and refreshing water. We don't go all the way in but just take off our shoes and wade in to the bottoms of our shorts.

"See, doesn't this feel nice?" I ask smiling.

"Yeah, it does." Gale sighs and splashes some of the water onto his arms and neck. The water feels so delicious I wish that I had brought my swimsuit along, but then I remember that tonight Peeta and I are heading to our little pool further down the beach and I smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Gale asks smirking.

"Oh I'm just excited about me and Peeta's date tonight." I sing song.

"Man you'd think you two were still dating." He mumbles under his breath but still loud enough for me to hear him.

"Yeah, isn't it nice?" I sigh and smile again.

"Enjoy it while you can then Catnip."

"I will, thank you. What about you and Madge, any plans for this evening?"

"I don't know. Madge isn't much fun now a days, just really tired all the time."

"Only three more months Gale, just three more. I'm sure you'll survive." I say laughing.

"Oh I will. I can't wait to have a kid!"

"So do you want it to be a boy or girl?" I ask.

"I'm good with either one, but I'd love to have a little girl with curly blond hair like her mom's but maybe my color of eyes."

"That's going to be one pretty girl Gale."

"Yeah, she sure will be."

"We should probably head back now." He suggests and begins making his way back to land.

"Okay." I agree and follow behind. We slip into our sandals and Gale picks up the game back and we make our way back to camp.

We have only been walking for a few minutes before my hunting senses pick up a faint voice. Stopping I whisper to Gale, "Did you hear that?" He nods in response, "Yeah, sounds like someone is talking through those bushes there."

"Who do you think it is?" I ask nervously.

"I don't know, maybe Finnick and Annie?" He suggests.

"I doubt it, doesn't sound like either of them."

"Well let's find out." Gale holds his pointer finger to his lips and leads to way, both of us making hardly any sound as we near the clump of bushes. The voice gets a little louder as well but I can tell that whoever is talking is trying to keep their voice down.

We arrive at the line of bushes a few moments later and stop, straining our ears to try and listen to the conversation. I don't hear anything at first but then a strange static sound is heard and then a cracking voice. I glance sideways at Gale and he just shrugs, indicating that he doesn't understand it either. But then the voice that we heard before begins speaking.

"…_I know, I'm trying. But two of the women are 6 months pregnant and I just can't try anything now_." I gasp and Gale clamps his hand tightly over my mouth. My eyes are wide open and my cheeks are heating up with anger. I know that voice. It belongs to Colette, the girl we've been blindly trusting all these months.

"_...Do you think I could leave now"? She whines, "I'm tired of living on this island. It would be really easy for me to just disappear, I know that you have a ship. I still can't believe I'm working for after you killed my brother though. Yes I need the money but just for the record, I still hate you." _

I slowly pry Gale's hand from my mouth but keep quiet. My legs are beginning to cramp up from crouching down but I don't dare to move.

"…_So why exactly do you want me to kill them all again? I can't believe why you are doing this all for revenge, you must be pretty desperate. Yeah yeah, I know what they did, but just remember that it's 6 against one, and the tiger didn't end up killing the handsome boy from 12. He was unconscious for a time, I even volunteered to keep watch over him during the night, but that pregnant wife of his slept practically on top of him the entire time and I didn't get the chance. _

This time I have to hold Gale back otherwise if I let him have his own way he'd probably barge out there and get himself killed on the spot. I find a little peek hole through the bushes and spy through. Sure enough, Colette is sitting in the entrance of a little shelter that is totally stuffed with supplies. _So that's where she got that backpack she brought us._ I think to myself. Growing more and more angry by the second. Colette must have some kind of communication with the outside world and a ship that could possibly bring us home if we could find it. The crackling voice sounds again but we can't understand anything it says, I'm guessing that it is the captain, we should have killed him when we had the chance.

Colette then sets the walkie-talkie thing in a pack in her shelter and pulls out some bread. My mouth waters at the sight of it. I make up my mind then that when she is away, we will come back and get some of the food for ourselves.

Gale then motions for us to go, so we slowly stand up, and without crunching too loudly on the leaves we make our silent departure. Once we are out of hearing Gale speaks, "Okay, so we're going to act as though nothing has happened, we don't want Colette becoming suspicious. That way we have an advantage, I'll tell the guys so that they can always keep an eye open, but I don't suggest telling the girls, don't need them freaking out about something they can't do anything about." I nod in agreement.

"Sure, although it'll be quite difficult to act the same around Colette now that we know that she has been lying to us all this time."

"Yeah it will, we'll just have to do our best. We don't see her very often anyways."

"I guess." I say quietly and we continue on our way back to camp. A few minutes later we arrive, Finnick and Annie are out on the beach collecting seashells, Madge is taking a nap and Peeta sitting outside our shelter playing with a piece of wood. I say good-bye to Gale and we head our separate ways. I just couldn't wait to tell Peeta my news, Gale had promised to tell Finnick. I'm so glad that I don't have to keep something this big from Peeta, I don't think I could do it, I feel really bad for Gale and Finnick who will be keeping this news to themselves, for now.

"Hey Kat! What took you so long?" I smile and give Peeta a kiss before sitting down next to him.

"Oh just the usual, catching our food, taking a quick dip in the waterfall and finding out that Colette has been lying to us this whole time, nothing strange."

"What?" Peeta almost falls out of his seat. "What was that you said about Colette again?" He asks once he is seated normally again.

"Well Gale and I were on our way home and we heard her talking on a walkie-talkie to the captain of our sunken ship."

"Okay." He takes a deep breath. "And what did you hear, exactly?"

"Well she was sitting outside a shelter full of supplies, and get this Peeta, she had bread!"

"What? She's had this all along and didn't tell us?"

"Yup."

"Anything else?"

"Yes. She was saying that she's not going to try anything right now because Madge and Annie are pregnant, also the tiger was actually supposed to kill Gale and she was whining that she wants to be picked up from the island. Peeta there is a ship nearby, we might be able to get back after all!"

Peeta smiles and gives me a hug, "We can only hope Kat."

"Guess so." I reply and give him a kiss.

"So, um, are you hungry?" He asks.

"Very! Oh and I have some good meat for supper tonight."

"Oh good. Well Finnick brought over two fish earlier this morning so I thought we'd have that and some fruit for lunch."

"I am so craving something different to eat." I complain.

"Believe me, so am I. Hopefully we will soon, if we can get some of Colette's food." Peeta says.

"Yeah, but I have to wonder how the food gets here without us knowing, I mean the island is pretty small." I muse.

"No idea. They must do it quietly somehow in the middle of the night or something."

I shrug, "We'll find out soon enough."

"I sure hope so Kat." Peeta has already made a small fire so we sit together and cook our lunch and each munch on a mango while we wait.

"Excited about our date tonight?" Peeta asks with a sly smile on his lips. I nod, my mouth full of the yellow goodness. Chewing quickly, then swallowing I reply, "Very excited. I feel like we're dating again. Remember when you would come to my house almost every day because you said you wanted to 'do it right', and before we left my mom would always call after us telling me to be home by 10."

Peeta chuckles, "I sure do remember. Those were good times."

"And at least twice a week you would leave a bouquet of flowers from the meadow and a basket of cheese buns." I smile at the memory.

"I'm surprised you didn't make yourself fat on the amount of cheese buns you ate!"

"Hey!" I say defensively. "You're the one that made them for me!"

"And I loved making them for you." He smiles and gives me a kiss." The fish is soon ready to eat so I grab us each a plate and fork and we dig into our meager but sufficient meal.

"So, what do you want to do until tonight?" Peeta asks while wiping his hands and mouth and throwing the fish bones into our personal compost pile a few yards away.

"I don't know. Whatever you want to do." I say indifferently.

"That's no help." He pouts.

"Um okay. We could take a nap?" I suggest lamely.

"That's no fun."

"Yeah I know, so how about you choose something to do." I recommend.

"Fine, how about we check out Colette's supply shelter!"

"I don't know." I say quietly.

"Come on Kat, I want some real food!" Peeta whines.

"Me too, but she probably has a gun, and Gale also said that we'll talk about it and make our move when she's out of the way. We're supposed to pretend that we don't know anything for now." I tell him.

"Oh fine. Let's just go for a walk down the beach then."

"Sounds good." Peeta puts out the fire and I rinse our plates off with a little water from a bucket. I grab my sunglasses from inside and re-braid my hair, then I leave my sandals at the door and we set off, hand in hand.  
The sun is shining like most days and only a few wispy clouds float around the vast of blueness. A peaceful breeze blows the short hairs that don't stay in my braid across my face and the smell of salt water is in the air. We make our way down to the beginning of the water and let the small waves break over our ankles.

"I'll miss this when we go back." I say, breaking the silence.

"Me too. But we can always visit District 4's beach and stay with Finnick and Annie at a real house." Peeta replies.

"Yeah." I say with a small sigh. "That'd be nice."

Peeta swings our linked hands between our bodies and we continue our stroll down the beach.

"Hey Kat, what's that over there?" My eyes look in the direction that his finger is pointing. "What, I don't see anything."

"It's a lifeboat!" I squint my eyes and try to see it through the rays of the sun and finally after a few moments of carefully focusing on that one place I see it. Very faintly way down the beach sure enough there is a lifeboat, two a man, and a woman, probably Colette. It seems as though they are unloading supplies although I'm quite surprised that they would do it in the brightness of day.

"I see it." I tell Peeta. "Looks like they are bringing Colette supplies."

"Maybe if we stole their lifeboat, we could find the larger ship that they are staying on, and threaten the captain to sail us back to Panem!"

"I doubt that'd ever happen so don't get your hopes up. We'll just have to wait for a rescue ship to come and pick us up." I tell him logically.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." He shrugs dejectedly then falls silent.

"Should we still check it out though?" I ask, still watching the figures piling supplies up on the beach.

"We'd have to hurry before the guys sets off again." Peeta replies.

"Well, I'm a pretty fast runner." I say with a smirk.

"Let's go then." Peeta gives my hand a squeeze and we take off. We move closer and closer to the line of trees so that we won't be so totally visible and pretty soon we are nearing the people. It's a good thing to because as we arrive they have just set the last box on the sand.

"She has more stuff than she'll ever use or eat!" I whisper angrily to Peeta.

"Now would have been a perfect time to get some bread from her secret stash." He grumbles back.

"Don't worry, we'll get some." I promise and move my eyes back to the couple on the beach.

"Okay listen closely, I have an idea." Peeta whispers a moment later.

"All ears." I reply.

"Okay. So I say that we wait for Colette to head back into the woods then we swim behind the lifeboat and follow it, then maybe we can find where the big ship is hiding with the supplies. We then come back, tell the others, pack up and take over the ship!"

"Sounds good to me."

Peeta smiles and kisses my cheek. "Let's just hope it works. We wait at least 20 minutes before all of the supplies have been taking into the woods, Colette waves goodbye to the man who I now know is not the captain but the guy working for him, and disappears into the woods. We wait another minute until the guy has pushed off and is rowing back around the island then we sprint across the sand and into the water, paddling quickly but quietly towards the boat. We keep a safe distance behind so that he doesn't hear us but close enough so that we won't lose him.

We stop now and then when we get too close for a break. The sandy shore is now quite far away and the water is deep beneath us.

"Do you think we should have told Finnick or Gale where we were going first?" I ask Peeta while treading water beside him.

"We didn't have time, and besides they probably wouldn't have let us go alone and then we would have made more noise with three or four of us."

"Okay." I reply simply and we resume swimming again. My arms and legs are beginning to burn after about half an hour of constant swimming, but final we come to a tiny island that we never even noticed from our island and there before us, is a huge ship. We stay back, just treading water and watch the man in the lifeboat pull it up onto the small sandy beach and another man come towards him. They seem to be talking but I can't hear anything and it's driving me crazy! The other man appears to be the captain. We watch their exchange for a few minutes then Peeta speaks, "We should probably get back, we'll talk to the others and make plans to come back. We just might be seeing home again after all."

I give him a happy but tired smile and we begin swimming all the way back to our home island.

"I can't believe they've been there all along!" I say to Peeta, swimming on my back next to him.

"Well the captain had to have gotten a ship so they probably haven't been there all 5 months."

"Yeah I guess." I reply and we continue on our way.

Twenty minute later we drag our tired selves up onto the beach and all the way back to camp.

"You still want to go on our date tonight?" Peeta asks tiredly.

"I'm too tired." I say, dragging my feet behind me.

"Let's just eat something and go to bed then." He suggests.

"Sounds perfect." I smile and take his hand.

We arrive back at the camp a few minutes later and are bombarded with worried faces and hundreds of questions.

"Boy do we have some news for you!" Peeta exclaims.

_**Cliffhanger! Mwhahahahah. Haven't ended with one of those in a while, your welcome ;) I'll try to update soon because now that its getting exciting I'm in a writing mood **____** Hope you all enjoyed it! It was fun to write! Sorry for any mistakes!**_

_**Thanks to Dancinghld, Guest: Thanks for the idea, what did you think of this chapter?!; .swag; Katniss72500; HGFan4719; FearlesswithHimJC; Prim; **_

_**Thanks again guys!**_

_**Until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	21. The Supplies-Chapter 21

_**Hey! Yeah I'm updating this story twice in a row but I couldn't help it! So I probably won't be updating another chapter for this one for a while **____** This isn't one of my best chapters but I hope you enjoy it, I wanted to post one tonight **____** Thanks for all the reviews!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games!**_

_**Chapter #21**_

"You've got to be kidding me." Finnick pounds his fist into the sand angrily. Peeta and I just finished telling them everything that we know and nobody is very happy about it.

"I just knew there was something about Colette. No one, and I mean no one goes from being a killer to a friend that easily." Gale adds, his arms protectively around a shivering Madge.

"Well we're going to need to come up with a plan." Peeta says and everyone nods in agreement.

"I agree." Annie says quietly. "But how are we supposed to get to that other island, I mean I'm a pretty good swimmer but for that long and the fact that I'm over six months pregnant might cause problems."

"That's why I suggest that we wait until Colette's supplies the next time, then we steal the small boat and row to the island, take over the ship and make the captain sail us back to Panem." Peeta explains.

"That's a smart idea." Gale begins, "But it'll never be that easy."

"I know, that's why we need to have everything planned out to perfection and always be ready for a quick getaway." Peeta tells him.

"Okay, so does anyone have any idea on how often the boat comes to the island?" Finnick asks. I shrug, "Probably every few weeks or so, because they bring Colette enough to feed us all and extra!"

"Okay, that gives us time to prepare then." Gale says.

"Yeah, and I say that the next time Colette comes here to visit, a few of us sneak of to her secret hideaway with either Gale of Katniss to lead us, and take some of her food. I heard she had bread!" Peeta practically drools on himself while just saying the word _bread_.

"Sounds good!" Madge exclaims, rubbing her large stomach. "I'd love something else other than fish and squirrels and if I never ate another mango or banana in my life, that'd be fine with me!" Gale chuckles and gives her a sweet kiss.

"Don't worry sweetie, I'll get you some different food as soon as I can." Madge smiles up at him and Gale can't help but lean down for another kiss.

"Come on guys!" Finnick complains jokingly. "You can do that later! We have more important things to take care of!" To prove his point he gives Annie a lingering kiss, causing her cheeks to turn pink.

"We're never going to get anything done!" I whisper to Peeta.

He smiles, "Eh, who cares." Then he wraps his arms around my waist, drawing me practically onto his lap.

"Peeta!" I say giggling, and try to wiggle out of his arms. He holds me tightly though so there is no chance of escape, but I don't really care. I love the feeling of being in Peeta's arms like this. He captures my lips with his when I'm least expecting it but I return the kiss soon after.

"Well look at that." Finnick laughs. "An important meeting turned into a triple make out session!" We all pull apart from our spouses when he says this and everyone begins to laugh.

"Who cares, we have time to plan anyways." Gale says with a smirk and gives Madge, who is still on his lap, another kiss.

"What time is it?" I ask Peeta once we have all settles down somewhat.

"Supper time." Peeta returns with a grin.

"Let's go eat then!" I exclaim, standing up quickly.

"So I guess we'll finish up tomorrow, late morning?" Finnick asks.

"What, the kissing or the planning?" I reply with a smirk.

"Both!" Gale says laughing.

"Sure." I reply and pull Peeta up onto his feet. We say good-bye to the others and make our way back to our little log hut.

"You know, I think I'm finally getting used to sleeping on the hard ground." Peeta comments once we're alone on the little path.

"Good for you. But I can't to get back to our real bed in District 12."

"Me neither Kat. I actually meant that I could finally _tolerate_ the hard ground." He smiles and squeezes my hand.

We pass the clearing where we can usually see Colette's little shelter and not surprisingly she is absent.

"Probably goading on all of her fresh food." Peeta grumbles, seeing where I am looking.

"Yeah, you're probably right." With a sigh we walk to few more steps to our own front door and duck inside. When I reach in our little make shift box to grab a squirrel for our stew my fingers touch something else. Pulling it out I gasp.

"Peeta! Look what I found!" Peeta hurries over to my and looks over my shoulder.

"I can't believe that with all the excitement with Gale being sick and everything, that night I forgot to bring the seeds from Colette to Annie!"

"You don't think they are poisoned, do you?" He asks skeptically.

"I don't know. I would hope not."

"So should we plant them?"

I shrug, "We might be leaving soon so it probably wouldn't make much sense. But we could plant a few just as an experiment."

"Sounds good. I can dig up a little square of dirt next to the house and we can plant them later tomorrow." Peeta says excitedly.

We don't bother making a stew but just cook one of the squirrels over the fire then eat the meat along with a banana to wash it down.

"Tired?" Peeta asks once we're finished eating.

"Yeah." I sigh and wipe my hands on the grass.

"Ready for bed?" I nod again. Peeta then stands up, dumps our remaining water on the fire and pulls me into our 'bedroom.'

"Sorry about our date." He apologizes while I change into my pajama t-shirt.

"Not your fault." I tell him. "Besides, it's not like it was a boring day. We learned a lot of helpful things and we could possibly be going home in a few weeks!" I lay down on the blanket and pull the other one up over my body. Peeta comes down beside me a few moments later. I rest my head on his chest like I usually do and fall almost instantly to sleep, barely catching Peeta's voice, "Good night Kat."

…

The next few days go by relatively normally, Peeta and I plant a few of the seeds but of course nothing happens to first few days so we just keep on watering them, hoping that something will come of our faithful work. We don't see Colette at all so the time never comes when come of us would get to take some of her delicious food. Peeta and I finally got a chance to go on our date last night and it was just lovely, I'll never tire of them as long as I'm alive.

Soon a week has gone by since our last adventure with Colette and we are all very bored and some of us a little grumpy too. Knowing that there is food not far away, but at the same time too far for us to reach is awful. Both Annie and Madge are moody and craving weird things that of course we don't exactly have on hand here.

"Hey Catnip!" I look up from the squirrel I am currently skinning in my open 'kitchen' to find Gale running madly towards me. Automatically I suspect that something terrible has happened, maybe something having to do with Madge. I wait somewhat patiently for Gale to arrive and when he does I have to wait a few seconds longer for him to catch his breath.

"What is it? Is it Madge? Is everyone okay?"

Gale chuckles, "Slow down Catnip, One question at a time. Yes everyone is fine, but Finnick spotted Colette getting into a boat probably to head to the other island, so we have a few hours at least to raid her food supply!"

"Really?" My voice comes out sounding sort of high pitched but I don't care. "So we can get some bread!"

"Oh yes, we sure can."

I grin and stand up, setting my half skinned squirrel to one side.

"So Peeta already agreed to stay here with the girls while the three of us, you, Finnick and I, go get the stuff." Gale explains to me.

"Hey! You already made the plans without me?" I fake hurt and Gale just shrugs.

"Well when Finnick came running up, everyone but you was in the same place so I volunteered to come and tell you."

"Thanks Gale." He smiles, "So, are you ready? We want to have enough time to get what we need."

"Sure, I'm ready." I say and slip my sandals on. "Let's go." Together we sprint back to the Odair's where everyone else is waiting for our return.

"Peeta immediately comes over to me for a hug and kiss while whispering in my ear, "Please be careful."

"Don't worry Peeta, We're only going to get some supplies and come right back. Besides, Colette isn't even there."

"I know, but I just need to know you'll be safe and come back to me all in one piece."

I chuckles slightly, "I'm sure Finnick and Gale won't let anything hurt me."

"I know." He says again.

I give him a comforting smile and one last kiss.

"Alright, let's go." Finnick says, taking command.

"We hope to be back in no more than 2 hours." Gale tells Madge who clearly doesn't want him to leave no matter how harmless this endeavor may be.

"You better be." Annie says sternly. "If not I'll be coming after you myself!"

"Well hopefully it doesn't come down to that." Finnick smiles and kisses her nose. Annie smiles back and plants a kiss on his lips.

"Ready?" Gale asks a moment later.

"Yep, let's go." I say and then the three of us start of with Gale in the lead, Peeta and the girls getting smaller and smaller until they are out of sight because of the many trees blocking our vision. It doesn't take Gale long to remember how we got to Colette's secret hideaway and soon we are at the clump of bushes that we hid behind last week while listening in on her conversation on the walkie-talkie.

"This is it." Gale announces in a hushed voice even though Colette is not even on the island.

"Let's hurry." Finnick says and together he and Gale pull back the bushes to reveal… Nothing. That's it. Absolutely nothing.

"I'm almost positive this is the place!" Gale says defensively.

"Yeah it is." I assure him. "Look, you can see footprints and scuffs on the dirt where the shelter used to be but its been taken away."

"You don't think…" Gale doesn't finish his sentence but we all know what he is thinking. You don't think that Colette packed up all of her stuff for good and left the island, trapping us forever.

"I don't know." Finnick muses. "How about we keep walking and maybe find out for sure if she left for good or if she just moved her things to a different location."

"That's smart idea." Gale agrees. "Maybe she got suspicious that one of us found her place and decided to move it."

"Or maybe she moves it every few weeks because since this is such a small island it'd be hard for us not to come across it." I suggest.

"That's possible too." Finnick says nodding.

"Okay, let's go." Gale says and we all get up and follow him.

"Should we split up?" I ask.

"Well, we would cover more ground that way." Gale decides.

"Sure would." Finnick agrees. "Let's settle to meet back here in half an hour."

"Sounds good." I reply and then we head off in three different directions, each hoping that we would be the one to find Colette's secret camp and provisions.

I go through the denser part of the forest, hoping that she was thinking to set up camp in a more secluded area. Well at least that's what I would do, and she seems to be pretty smart.

I've been wandering through the trees for almost thirty minutes already and am just about to turn back when I hear Gale's signal whistle that we used to use back in the woods of District 12. I hurry back the way I had come, eager to find out what he found or what happened. I stumble into the small clearing at the same time that Finnick and Gale do.

"I heard your whistle, what is it?" I ask breathlessly.

Gale grins, "I found the secret stash."

"You did?" Finnick asks in disbelief.

"You bet!"

"Where?" I ask.

"You won't believe it, but it's actually all up in a tree pretty near our camp!"

"What?" I sputter, "So she's been spying on us this whole time without us knowing!"

"It would seem so." Gale admits gravely.

"Do you think she's been listening to our conversations about her?" Finnick asks.

"I sure hope not." I grumble.

"Yeah me neither." Gale agrees. "But we'd better get going, it's going to take some time to climb the tree and get the stuff down considering we are the only eligible climbers."

"Okay, let's go." Finnick says and we begin briskly walking back towards camp.

"So whose camp is it closest too?" I ask Gale.

"Yours actually." He replies. "I guess since it's the farthest from the beach."

"Well that makes sense." I say quietly. "But its still pretty unnerving."

"I agree." Gale says, "But hopefully it won't be for much longer, and she might even spend the night on the other island."

"I doubt it, because she might think that we'd notice her absence and I'm pretty sure that she wants to keep us in the dark on everything." I tell him.

"I guess that makes sense." He shrugs, then says, "Here we are!"

Sure enough, quite high in a tree very close to mine and Peeta's shelter is a small tree house.

"I can't believe I've never noticed that before!" I say, a baffled expression on my face.

"They must have built it while we were on our all day swim or something." Finnick proposes.

"Probably." Gale agrees.

"So, who's going up first? Remember we have less than an hour to be back." Finnick says.

"I'll go first." Gale says and grabs onto the first sturdy branch, swinging himself up to the next one. "I'll go next." I tell him and do the same as Gale.

"Finnick, you could stand down there and we throw the supplies down to you." Gale suggests.

"Sounds good!" Finnick calls upward. Gale doesn't let me climb up all the way to the house but tells me to stay about half way up where he can hand me things. I tried to protest but he wouldn't hear of it, saying that Peeta would be horrified if something happened to me. I put it that Madge wouldn't be too pleased either, especially after what happened with the tiger but he just shrugged it off and began rummaging through the materials above.

The first bag comes falling through the branches a few minutes later and I barely catch it, then without checking inside I call a warning down to Finnick and drop it.

"Remember, don't take too much that it'll be blatantly obvious!" I yell up to Gale, receiving only a grunt in return. A few more packs come done in a span of about ten minutes and I am beginning to think that Gale is just grabbing stuff randomly. Hopefully Colette doesn't miss any of it too much.

It has been almost exactly 2 hours since we left so I call up to Gale to let him know.

"Be right down!" He calls back and I begin my descent. Finnick has quite the large stack of things at the bottom of the tree and I grin when I hop down off the last branch.

"Can't wait to show the others!"

"Yeah, me neither."

Gale is down beside us a few seconds later and we all pick up as much as we can to bring back to the Odair's to sort out and divide. We begin making our way back but I can't help but feel a pair of eyes staring at my back all the way.

_**Ooh, creepy! Lol. So what did you think?**_

_**We got around 7 or 8 reviews for the last chapter, not as many as usual but still great!**_

_**Guest: Yeah, haha I think everyone did;) Yeah that'd be a cool idea, I'm not very good at doing the arguing thing with friends, lol. Glad you liked it!**_

_**Fuzzysocksandwriting: Haha I laughed while reading your review :D Glad you liked that part, I'm not too good at adding humor but I try my best once in a while **____** Thanks for the great review, it was really sweet **___

_**PrimroseSwiftlyForever: Yeah probably, it's also in her character to be distant **____** Thanks for the review!**_

_**KatNat: Thank you!**_

_**Katniss72500: Well I don't think I'll have that happen, but we'll see, haha. There always has to be a bad guy! Lol! Glad you liked it **____** Thanks.**_

_**HGFan4719: Wow! Great ideas! Haha, guess you'll just find out (And it'll be soon**____** Love getting reviews!**_

_** .swag: Yeah, actually the idea came to me while writing the chapter, lol. Hope this chapter answered your question. Thanks for the review!**_

_**Thanks again guys! Love getting the reviews! Please don't forget to leave one before you go and tell me what you thought! Until next time.**_

"_**FirePearl**_


	22. Traitor!-Chapter 22

_**Howdy! Wow it sure has been a while, sorry but I haven't had much time to write. I can't believe we're at chapter 22 already, it's crazy! So this story is actually coming to a close in about 4-5 chapters or so, I'm not totally sure, but I know where it'll end now, and what the epilogue will be about **____** Thanks for the reviews, there were about 10 I think! Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's more exciting I think and was fun to write **___

_**Disclaimer" I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #22**_

We all enjoyed a delicious and filling dinner consisting of different types of bread, cheese, nut mixes and even wine! The guys especially gorged themselves on the delicacies, and now lie on their backs in the sand, unable to get up, or do anything really.

"Ah." Annie sighs contentedly, leaning up against her husband. "Isn't this nice?"

"Yeah." Gale agrees. "It'd be even better if we didn't have a group of people still out to kill us."

"Come on Gale." I say, giving his leg a gentle kick. "Don't put a damper on our momentary happiness." Peeta chuckles and slides his arm around my waist, drawing me closer to him, "I guess we can let one of us be on the alert."

"Yeah, sure." I relent and lean into him.

"Well if we are ambushed or something like that, don't blame me!" Gale chuckles, throwing his hands up in the air. We still have quite a bit of food left from Colette's secret stash in the tree and I am already anticipating our next meal even though I couldn't eat another bite right now even if I wanted to. The sun is just beginning to set and together the six of us lie on the sand and watch it begin disappear over the water, illuminating the sky in a vast amount of color. Pinks, oranges and reds making it look like the sky is on fire.

_Peeta's favorite color._ I think to myself and smile softly. For once we are all happy and aren't worrying about anything. Our stomachs are full and we are together, no one realizes at the time though that are entire meal and everything that we do this evening is being watched intently. Angry eyes peek down upon us from a tall tree, revenge the only thing on its mind at the moment. But we don't hear anything, not even mine and Gale's hunting senses pick up anything out of the ordinary until it is too late.

A loud crash and cry for help from behind causes all six of us to stand up quickly and look around frantically for the source of the noise. I don't see anything at first but then at the base of a tree near us my eyes fall on a boot probably belonging to our intruder.

"I think it's Colette." Peeta whispers, taking my hand and rubbing comfortable circles on the inside of my palm. I nod in agreement, not wanting to talk. We stand there, not moving and barely breathing, just waiting for Colette to come out of the foliage that she landed in. Finnick has his arm tightly around Annie's waist and slightly protruding belly and Gale has Madge securely in his arms.

I spot my bow and quiver just a few feet away and slowly detach myself from Peeta to grab it. He gives me a curious look but I just point to my weapons and he nods understandably, patting the dagger hooked to his waist. I three long strides I reach the bow and picking it up I also sling the quiver of arrows over my shoulder, then quietly walk back to the rest of the group.

I don't know why we are all acting so scared, I mean, its only one girl against three guys and me, but there is something about how she deceived us and has been getting away with spying on us and all that with the help of the captain and his small crew on the other island that unnerves us all.

Finally there is a rustling of the leaves and bushes and a groan of pain. Gale and Finnick exchange quick glances and then quickly push the pregnant girls into the woods away from Colette and away from the fight that is probably going to happen. They have just gotten out of sight when Colette stands up and starts walking towards us. I immediately string an arrow on my bow and point it directly at her, but she just smiles and keeps on advancing towards us. At first I wonder how she can have so much confidence against the four of us when she pulls a pistol from her belt and aims it at Gale.

"You should have died from the snake." She begins and I gasp knowing that both the snake and the tiger were put there to kill us.

"But you didn't so I thought the tiger would have surely done the job, but apparently you're smarter than I thought I killed it instead." Confusion is written on all of our faces and Colette seems to notice.

"You're probably wondering how the tiger was here to kill you, well this area is a natural habitat for them and the snakes but we injected them with some capitol virus that makes them more vicious than they already are." Colette is only a few feet away from us now, still pointing the gun at Gale's chest.

"You know that we could kill you right now, right?" Finnick tells her coolly.

"Yes, I'm sure you could, but before I died the trigger would be pulled then Madge's baby would be without a Father and we wouldn't want that now would we?"

"So what exactly is your plan?" Peeta asks, trying to act calm.

"Oh you'll find out soon enough." She replies hotly. "For now, I just need to keep you here and in sight."

"Then what?" I ask, speaking for the first time during this whole ordeal.

"Then I guess He will figure out what to do with you."

"He?" Finnick asks.

"Oh you know who I'm talking about." She huffs.

And we do know whom she's talking about; the captain of our ship who has been trying to kill us for months.

"Where are the other two?" Colette asks a moment later.

"Who?" Gale smirks.

"Oh don't play dumb with me! The two pregnant women, they were here a little while ago, where are they?"

"I don't know." Finnick replies truthfully.

"It's okay, I'm sure my men will be picking them up any time now."

"What?" Gale bellows, making a move to her but stopping when she loads the guns. "They better not lay a hand on them!"

"If they don't cause trouble I'm sure no harm will come to your precious wives." Colette says with a leer.

"You leave them alone!" Finnick shouts at her.

"I'm afraid I can't do that honey." She grins sweetly.

I glance over at Gale who is standing stalk still with his fists clenched at his sides and I can tell that he is doing all he can not to pound Colette here and now. I am pretty surprised at how cool and calm Finnick is making himself out to be right now though but I know underneath it all he is just like Gale. I guess years of being a victor and practically acting like a totally different person in the capitol has helped.

My arms are beginning to get sore from holding the bow and stringed arrow pointed towards Colette for so long.

"Sit." She suddenly commands and we instantly drop to the ground. "Good." She smiles and leans up against the tree, still pointing her gun at Gale.

"Ya know, your arm is going to get pretty tired holding that gun up for a long time." Gale mentions.

"I'll be fine, and don't go getting any ideas." Colette says but I can tell that she won't be able to keep that gun pointed at Gale forever. "You can't hold it up forever." Gale says, voicing my own thoughts.

"Yeah well I won't have to."

Gale sighs audibly and puts his head in his hands. I know that inside he is freaking out and is afraid at what could happen to his precious Madge and I don't blame him. I'm so glad that Peeta and I are still together. Peeta seems to be thinking the same thing because he scoots closer to me and wraps his arms around my middle. "We're going to get out of this, I promise." He whispers in my ear and I nod.

Suddenly I catch a slight movement out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, Gale is slowly but surely moving towards Colette who has finally lowered gun and is currently looking out over the water. I already know what Gale plans to do and I would probably do the same thing but that doesn't mean that it's the smartest thing to do at the moment. Finnick has his eyes closed, lying back on the sand, and doesn't know that one of us could be dead in just a second. I contemplate warning him but that would definitely give Gale away and possibly even get him killed.

A few seconds later Gale is only a foot away from our captivator who surprisingly hasn't noticed him yet. I inhale sharply as I watch intently as Gale moves another few inches then, jumping up, knocks the gun from Colette's grasp, firing a bullet in the meantime, then tackles her to the ground. Finnick sits up abruptly and Peeta hastily grabs the gun away and points it at Colette, I in turn pick my bow and arrow back up and also point it at her. I can't shoot now for fear of accidentally hitting Gale who is currently wrestling the small girl on the ground who is surprisingly still holding her ground.

After a few minutes, Gale has her worn down and stands up, brushing the sand from his clothing. Peeta hands him the gun and Finnick, who is now standing up, unsheathes his dagger.

"I'm sorry but you have to die now." Gale says, pointing the gun at her head.

"You won't get away with this!" She screams.

"Oh but I think we will." Finnick says smirking.

"Actually, you won't." A deep voice from behind us says and we all turn around quickly. To our dismay, the captain and three large men stand only a few yards away, each with a cocked and loaded gun in his hand.

"If you ever want to see those two girls again, you'll drop the gun." The captain says sternly and Gale immediately drops the gun, which is almost instantly picked up by Colette who moves to stand over by them.

"And the arrow." He says, directing to me. I hesitantly reach down and set my bow and arrow back on the ground but at the same time grab two handfuls of sand and through them into our attackers faces. The others quickly do the same, momentarily blinding all four of them. Two more guns shots go off but thankfully nobody gets hit.

"Gale, go find the girls!" I yell and he doesn't waste anytime leaving the scene. Soon just Peeta, Finnick and I are left with all but one of the guns. Peeta ends up wrestling the last gun out of one of the guys grasp, leaving them weaponless, or so we think. A few minutes later when the four can see again but still have red watery eyes we point all of the guns back at their previous owners.

"Move!" Finnick shouts. "And take us to the boat you came here in."

The men hang their heads and begin walking but the captain reaches down into his boot and pulls out a small gun. Wasting no time he pulls the trigger, shooting Finnick in the shoulder. He cries out in pain and drops his gun, but at the same time Peeta shoots his gun, shooting the captain in the arm as well. The captain in turn drops the gun and I quickly pick it up.

"I missed on purposed." Peeta growls. "Now move!" Apparently they don't have any more weapons hiding on them because all four of them begin walking in front of us like little kids who just got into trouble.

"Kat, we'll take care of them. I want you to go back and grab the ready-made bag and the Odair's, the Hawthorne's and our place, it has our more valued possessions in them. Also grab the first aid kit for Finnick's wound. Then follow our footprints to the boat." Peeta tells me quietly and I sprint of back the way we'd come as fast as my legs will carry me. I go to our place first with a strange feeling that I wouldn't be returning after this. Sure enough our backpack is stuffed full with all of our clothes and valuables, a minute later I am on my way to grab Madge and Gale's pack, then Finn and Annie's. Not long after I am running back towards the others, hoping that Finnick and Peeta are faring all right and have the guys, and Colette, under control.

I overcome them quite quickly seeing as both Finnick and the captain are injured. I follow the footprints as well as the large drops of blood that I hope are more from the captain and less from Finnick.

They are almost to the boat when we meet up and looking around I notice that Gale isn't here yet with the girls, hopefully they are okay. Peeta pushes the four others into the large lifeboat and I quickly extract the first aid kit for Finnick's wound. I help Peeta clean it with a little salt water which causes Finnick to wince, then after spreading a little cream on to help prevent infection I wrap it up with some of our bandages.

"There, good as new." I say, patting his now padded shoulder.

"Thanks." He smiles.

"You'll want to wrap me up too if I am to be of any use to you." The captain speaks a few minutes later. He is breathing heavily and holding onto his wounded arm tightly that continues to drip blood onto his lap and the bottom of the boat.

"I'll do it." I volunteer and grabbing the first aid kit before Peeta can protest hop into the boat. Somewhat hesitantly I clean the captain's wound: a small whole in his bicep but thankfully the bullet mostly grazed and didn't go all the way through. I wrap it up securely then begin standing up to get out of the boat. I am momentarily stunned when a hand grabs my leg and pulls me back so that I land with a thump on the hard bottom of the boat. I groan and look around.

Peeta saw what happened and he is now wearing a look of horror on his handsome face. "Leave her alone!" He shouts angrily at the man that pulled me down.

"I'm just making sure that you don't try anything, don't worry we won't hurt her unless its absolutely necessary." The captain tells him and I swear Peeta's face went a few shades whiter. _Well that's comforting._ I think to myself.

Before any more words can be exchanged Gale comes bounding out of the trees and onto the beach towards us.

"I can't find them!" He calls once we're in hearing range.

"That's because they aren't here." The captain replies, grinning evilly.

"Where are they?" Gale practically screams.

"You wife and the other woman are being held somewhere safe until further instructions."

"Why?" Finnick asks.

"You didn't think that we'd just row you all back to Panem did you?" He laughs.

"Now, we'll be going." The captain makes a signal to his men and they begin rowing away. Peeta starts yelling at them to let me go, and they don't dare fire their guns because I have been put at the front of the boat just in case. I give Peeta a sad smile and blow him a kiss and just like that, a large wave pushes us away until Peeta, Finnick and Gale are just specks on the island.

_I wonder what happens now?_

_**Mwhahahaha! How was that for exciting and cliffy?! Hope you liked it! Sorry for any mistakes and sorry its not as long as usual but I really wanted to post one today. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	23. Kidnapped-Chapter 23

_**Hey all! Sorry for leaving you on that cliffhanger last chapter, but here is the next one! I'll try and make it as long as I can because by the time I update my other two stories I may not be able to update this one this week. I am going to Spain for a week so just to let you know why I won't be updating **____** We got ten reviews for the last chapter, thanks so much! I'll reply to them at the end so as not to keep you waiting…**_

_**So I typed this out in pink so when you read it you can imagine the letters in pink, lol. Okay, that's all for now, enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the huger games.**_

**Chapter #23~Peeta's point of view.**

**(**_**Last Time: "Now, we'll be going." The captain signals to his men and they begin rowing us away. Peeta starts yelling at them to let me go, and he doesn't dare fire the guns because I have been put at the front of the boat, just in case. I give Peeta a sad smile and blow him a kiss, and just like that, a large wave pushes us away until Peeta, Finnick and Gale are just specks on the tiny island.**_

_**I wonder what happens now?)**_

It takes all of the will power I posses, and a little help from Gale and Finnick, to prevent me from jumping into the water and swimming after to save my damsel in distress.

"They'll just shoot you without hesitation and then where would we be?" Finnick says reasonably.

"So, what's the plan?" Gale asks, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Well, what a sad lot we are." I say with a shaky laugh. "Three guys on a lonely island with their wives captured by the guys that have been trying to kill them for like six months."

"Don't forget that two of them are pregnant." Gale adds.

"Thanks Gale, I really needed that." Finnick mutters under his breath.

"Sorry. Okay, we need to come up with a smart and well thought through plan before we do anything rash."

"I agree." I say, plopping down on the sand.

"Well at least we have the supplies, and probably Colette's too." Finnick mentions and Gale and I just groan.

"Not helping Finnick." I tell him.

"I know." He puts his head in his hands. "I just need to get my mind off of what they could be doing her, to them."

"Yeah, we know sort of where Katniss is." Gale says. "But Annie and Madge are actually missing."

"You know." I begin, "The captain and his men could have possibly come in two boats then when you told the girls to run they could have been captured and taken back to the other island in the second boat."

"That is actually quite possible." Finnick says, lifting his head.

"So, if we can get to the other island we might be able to find all three of them!" Gale finishes.

"We can swim." I suggest.

"What about the supplies?" Finnick asks.

"Well, I don't know about you two but I would rather save my pregnant wife than bring my clothes with me." Gale puts in.

"Thanks Gale, that makes us feel real good." Finnick laughs.

Gale chuckles and stands up, "So, our great thought out, smart plan is to swim there and then think of a plan?"

"Sounds good enough to me." I chuckle slightly, "I don't want to waste any more time here."

"Okay then, but should we maybe put the packs in the bushes over there?" Gale recommends.

"Sure." Finnick replies and the three of us pick up our three packs and begin walking to the woods.

"Should we maybe just bring one pack with a change of clothes for the girls just in case." I ask.

"Yeah, that'd probably be smart." Gale agrees with a nod and begins digging through his backpack and pulls out a pair of shorts and a shirt for Madge and Finnick and I do the same, putting the outfits in just one pack and leaving the other two in a clump of bushes.

"What about the guns?" I ask.

"They'll be useless if they get wet." Gale tells me.

"We'll bring the knives instead." Finnick says, throwing them in the pack as well.

Gale volunteers to carry the pack and after we throw our sandals in, as well as our shirts, leaving us in our shorts, we all jump into the water to save our damsels in distress.

**Katniss's point of view…**

As soon as we are out of sight of the island and the guys, one of the big men grabs some rope and yanks my arms roughly behind me. I bite my lip to keep from crying out as he ties my hands securely behind my back.

Nobody talks as we sit in the boat on our way to the other island. Colette is silent while the two big men row and the captain sits looking off into the distance, looking a little pale from his arm wound. The third man sits at the back of the boat doing nothing. I sigh and slump to the side of the boat, my hands already feeling sore from the tightness of the ropes.

About ten minutes later the second island is in view and I breathe a quiet sigh of relief. Another ten minutes and a giant wave pushes us up onto the sandy beach. The ship is still in sight, around one side of the island and just the tip of the sails are visible. Two of the large men grab me crudely on the arms while Colette takes the captain into the woods where they probably have a camp or something.

I don't bother trying to fight against the guys who are at least a foot taller than me and weigh probably three times as much, 2/3rds of which is solid muscle.

I wonder why they have to keep such a tight grip on me when my arms are still tied behind my back. I couldn't run in this sand like this even if I wanted to.

I also wonder if the guys found Madge and Annie or if they are lost or even possibly here on this island.

"Walk faster!" One of the guys yells at me. From now on I have decided to call him Mr. Muscle, and the other I'll just call: Big.

"You don't have to try and rip my arms off!" I yell back, taking a big gulp of courage. "I'm not going anywhere."

"We don't know that." Big says gruffly, not loosening his hand on my arm at all.

"Right, like I could get far in the sand with my hands tied behind my back and you two so close to me I can hardly breathe." I retort.

They just laugh and don't pay me any attention whatsoever, so I hang my head in defeat and shuffle alone between them, hoping that we arrive at our destination as soon as possible. The sun seems to be hotter here and after only ten minutes off constant walking my mouth is parched and my back sticky with sweat. My sandals have long been filled with sand and my arms are beginning to lose all feeling in them. Finally because I am in desperate need of some sort of liquid to cool my tongue I decide to try and talk to these guys. _They can't be as tough as they make themselves out to be, right? _

"So, how much longer till we get to wherever we are going?" I begin.

"Just shut up and you'll find out when we get there." Mr. Muscle replies angrily.

_Well that didn't go too well, _"Don't you guys get thirsty doing all this hard work in the hot sun and endless sand." I try again.

"Actually"…Big begins but is cut off my Mr. M, "No! Now shut ur trap girl b'fore I shut it for ya!" I make up my mind to keep quiet for now before I get into more trouble than I already am, if that is even possible. The sun feels as though it is getting hotter and hotter and I am almost positive that my skin is burning

My feet are so incredibly sore and the bottoms are raw and red from rubbing in the rough sand for about twenty minutes now. I have to wonder if we are actually going to the ship, but then why wouldn't we just go in the boat, it would have been a lot quicker. I'm so confused and the sun probably isn't helping much.

Finally I think I see a small wisp of smoke rising above a clump of trees, either that or my eyes are playing tricks on me.

"We're almost there." Big whispers and right then I decide that I like him better than Mr. M and the others. I nod gratefully and I hadn't noticed until now that I can feel my arms again, the guys must have loosened their tight grips while I was deep in thought. I guess they wanted me to keep my arms, thankfully because so did I.

I am surprised at how bright it still is since it is already evening. Glancing quickly down at my watch I realize that it is 8pm. That helps lighten my mood a bit because the sun should be going down anytime now and it'll cool of a lot. I guess it just felt like hours since we ate dinner when in reality it has only been like 2 and a half.

"Here we are." Mr. M says curtly. Sure enough a small camp is set up with four tents in a circle with a good-sized campfire in the middle. Why they have a fire in this heat is beyond my comprehension right now. Two more sailor-looking men sit on either side of the fire cooking some kind of meat, but no one else is in sight. Colette must have taken the captain to the ship for medical attention, which means there are more people around! '_So much for outnumbering the bad guys'._

Mr. M lets go of my arm and Big lets go of the other and I immediately begin rubbing the blood back into them. Mr. M doesn't waste any time though in shoving me towards one of the tents and I quickly fall to my hands and knees and crawl through the opening. The door is zipped shut and I am left in semi darkness. The sun is still shining so I can still see my way around, but I know that it won't last long, and in less than an hour I won't be able to see anything.

Taking in my surroundings I find a sleeping bag rolled up in one corner, a tiny lantern in another and a plastic bag filled with food. I have to wonder why they are giving me food and stuff when they've been trying to kill us all this time. Then I get a thought that maybe Big secretly put the stuff in here, but then quickly push it out of my head because I know he wouldn't risk doing that. It was probably just my imagination or the heat of the sun affecting my thinking that I thought he was being nice to me. I then roll out the sleeping bag and plop myself down on top of it, then grabbing the plastic bag and begin emptying the contents. Despite having eaten less than three hours ago I am starving and also still very thirsty. Whoever left the food must have been thinking ahead because sure enough, there is a large water bottle filled to the brim with water. I am just about to guzzle it down when it occurs to me that this stuff could possibly be poisoned.

But my thirst ends up getting the best of me and I open the cap and begin taking small sips so that I don't get a stomachache. Once I am rehydrated I grab a small loaf of bread, some cheese and a banana. Since there aren't any utensils I just break off a large chunk of the delicious smelling bread and place a slice of cheese on top. All thoughts of the food being poisoned have left my mind as I enjoy my meal. By the time I have finished eating and my stomach is full, the sun is almost gone and only a little bit of light from the fire outside allows me to see shadows. Putting the leftovers back inside the plastic bag I place it in one corner, then take the sleeping bag and roll it out, deciding that I may as well get some rest while I can, considering I might not be allowed to later on.

I fall asleep soon after with thoughts of Peeta, having no idea that he is already on his way to rescue me.

**Peeta's point of view…**

It seems to be taking us longer than before to swim to the other island. It doesn't help that the sun is setting and if the moon doesn't come out, we won't be able to see anything and we'll probably get lost. My legs are burning from keeping myself afloat for so long and I can tell from the strain on the other's faces that they are wearing down as well.

"Are we almost there?" Gale asks, swimming up beside me.

"I'm not sure." I reply honestly. It shouldn't take this long but the only time I swam there was in the middle of the day, not at night."

"Great, so we're lost?" Finnick huffs in annoyance.

"I didn't say that." I retort. "I see a big shadow of something up ahead, let's swim towards it, maybe it's the island."

"Fine." Finn replies and with a burst of energy the three of us begin swimming fiercely through the calm and somewhat warm seawater. About ten minutes later we come into some shallow water and after standing up on our wobbly legs we walk through the water up on a sandy beach, much like our own.

"Is this the right one?" Gale asks, looking round in the moonlight.

"I'm not sure." I reply, also taking a look around. "I never actually went on the island, Katniss and I stayed out in the water and watched. And there was also a big ship."

"Well the ship could be on the other side, how about we walk a little bit and check this place out." Gale suggests.

"Couldn't we rest our legs for just a minute?" Finnick complains, sitting down on the sand.

"Sure." I say. "I could use a quick rest." So Gale takes the backpack off and sets it down beside him, and the three of us put on our damp shirts and lay back on the sand to rest.

"I hope they're okay." Gale sighs, running his fingers absentmindedly through the sand.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." I assure them.

"Easy for you to say Mellark." Gale says, "Your wife isn't pregnant or lost, we know she's on the island with the captain."

"Right, so Kat not being pregnant should make me less worried about what could happen to her." I retort angrily.

"It's different."

"No it isn't!" I shout.

"Guys, just stop arguing, it's not going to help us find them." Finnick says reasonably.

"I know." Gale sighs again, "I just can't help but imagine all the terrible things they could be doing to Madge right now." He punches his fist in the sand heatedly and groans.

"We're going to find them." I tell him seriously. "I won't stop until we do."

"Me neither." Finnick agrees and Gale nods along with us.

"Good," I say with a smile, "Then let's go rescue our women!" Finnick cracks a smile and the three of us stand up and begin making our way down the beach.

"Think we'll find them in the dark?" Finnick asks a few minutes later. Just as he is saying this I notice a small light in the distance and the faint smell of burning wood, I quicken my pace while saying, "I think we will, sooner than you think."

_**Sorry for the sort of cliffhanger, I didn't want it to be too cliffy but it just kind of ended this way **____** Hope you liked the changing between Katniss and Peeta's pov's, I like writing Peeta's **____** Hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring, I just don't want things moving too quickly, otherwise the story will end quicker! On to the reviewer replies…**_

_**~Guest: Thanks! Glad to hear it, Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!**_

_**~PureBrit12: Wow that'd be interesting, haha. So glad you liked it, thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~ .swag: Awe thank you! I loved reading your review, makes me feel so good **____** Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed it!**_

_**~fuzzysocksandwriting: Yeah Ikr?! Haha thanks, actually in the beginning she was going to be good but then I thought it'd add more action if I made her betray them ;) Hope you enjoyed this one too, and also the guys and their thoughts as well. Thanks again!**_

_**~FearlesswithHimJC: Yep, but it makes it more interesting this way I think **____** Oh they will be, I promise. Yeah, that's what I was thinking for the epilogue too. See you next week! And thanks for the review.**_

_**~Katniss72500: Nope that's for sure! Well it looks like they're on the right track now! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**~canadianboy98" Thanks! I'll keep it in mind **___

_**~TributeWitch: Thank you! Me neither! Haha.**_

_**~HGFan4719: Guess you'll see! Haha, but I'm excited about these next few chapters. Thanks for the review!**_

_**~KatNat: No problem, thanks! **_

_**Thanks again guys! Thanks for reading and I'll see you probably around beginning of May, end of April. Please don't forget to leave a review, let's see how many we can get this time! **_

_**Adios Amigos!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	24. More Deaths-Chapter 24

_**Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry its been extra long since I updated! But here I am with another chapter **____** Thanks so much for all the encouraging reviews we got on the last chapter, I don't quite remember how many there were, but there were a lot. Thanks again for waiting! And enjoy!**_

_(Last Time: "Think we'll find them in the dark?" Finnick asks a few minutes later. Just as he is saying this I notice a small light in the distance and the faint smell of burning wood, I immediately quicken my pace while saying, "I think we will, sooner than you think.")_

_**Chapter #24**_

Peeta's pov

The smell gets stronger and so does the light, and before I even say anything, both Finnick and Gale notice it as well and begin walking so fast that I'd call it running. Thankfully walking in the sand is a quiet procedure so we don't have to be careful about our foot placing like we would have to in the woods.

Finnick and Gale both have longer legs than I do so I have to struggle to keep up with their very fast pace.

"So, what is our plan of attack?" Gale asks a moment later, stopping for breath.

"How about the element of surprise." Finnick suggests. "I mean, it's the middle of the night so I doubt more than one or two of the guys are awake. If we take care of them quickly and quietly then we'll search for the girls."

"Sounds good to me." I say with a nod. "But what about weapons?"

"Well I have Katniss's bow and arrows, and each of us will take a dagger either for cutting ropes or getting out alive." Gale says.

It makes me feel a little sick to think about killing anyone, but if it is necessary to save Katniss then I'll do anything. We are getting quite close now so Gale divides out the weapons evenly and we press on.

By now I can hear the muttering of voices but it sounds like there are only two, three at the most.

Suddenly Gale stops abruptly and I almost trip while trying to stop myself from bumping into him.

"What is it?" Finnick asks, a little annoyed that he is stopping us.

"I just think that you two should let me do this alone…" he begins but I cut him off,

"Are you kidding me?" I hiss, trying my best not to yell and give away our presence. "This is my wife we're talking about."

"Mine too, and Finnick's." Gale counters.

"Sure, but we're almost positive Katniss is here, none of us have any idea where either Madge or Annie could possibly have been taken. We're all going." I end with a sense of finality in my voice that kind of surprises all three of us.

"Fine, but you had better keep quiet and not mess everything up." He grumbles and continues walking.

"He didn't mean it." Finnick whispers, coming up beside me.

"I know." I say with a sigh, "He's just as antsy about finding Madge as we are about Katniss and Annie."

Finnick nods and we hurry to catch up with Gale who has already put a considerable distance between us with his speed walking. About two minutes later Gale stops again and we come to stand beside him. There before us is a circle of four good sized tents and with a small campfire in the middle, and just our luck, the two guys we heard talking a few minutes previous are now asleep, one on either side of the fire. I chuckle quietly to myself because I can hear their snores from here. Even Gale cracks a smile, probably happy that this should be easier than we had expected. We then begin stepping stealthily closer and closer to the tents and the sleeping men, careful not to step on any dry sticks or leaves from the few trees near by. My heart is beating so hard and loudly that I am afraid someone will hear it. I am practically giddy with excitement, which seems a little weird for a guy, especially me, about the prospect of seeing Katniss again in a matter of minutes. Even though it has only been hours since I've seen her it feels like days and all I want is to hold her in my arms again.

"Okay, here's the plan." Gale whispers to us, causing Finnick and I to halt and listen.

"I'll stand guard and make sure those dudes don't wake up and you two will check each tent for the girls."

"What if they're not here?" I ask, trying to think of all the possibilities.

"Then we'll search till we find all three of them." Gale growls quietly and I just nod.

"Okay, let's go." Finnick says and together the three of us enter the camp, hoping that this business will go quickly and easily and hopefully with the least amount of spilled blood as possible.

We hold our breaths as we step into the camp and Gale takes his post near the fire so that he can detain the two men from finding us, if they wake up. Finnick and I then split up so that we can each check two tents on either side of the fire.

The first tent I open is almost empty except for a few supplies: blankets, food, lanterns…etc. I glance at Finnick across the fire and he just shakes his head and I do the same, then we move on to the final two tents.

_**Katniss's pov**_

I don't really sleep, just lay there in the sleeping bag, hoping that I won't be dragged out and killed anytime soon. In the few hours that follow I occasionally reach over to the bag of food and end up eating all of the food available. I feel restless, pretty much about everything but more the wondering if Peeta will be able to come and rescue me, I just want to be held in his arms again. This is the first night since we've been married that I've spent without him and I don't want to ever have to do it again.

I am just starting to drift off to sleep finally when the sound of the tent next to me being opened meets my ears. I sink deeper into the sleeping bag, hoping that it is not the men coming out to retrieve me. I'm so scared right now that my whole body is shaking. I don't like feeling scared, it makes me feel weak and I don't like having that feeling inside me, although ever since I've been married to Peeta I've learned that it is better to have someone to rely on and that you don't always have to take care of things yourself.

My keen ears pick up a pair of footsteps, coming from the closest tent and moving towards mine. My fingernails dig into my palms as I squeeze my hands. I don't want to die, I want to hug and kiss Peeta one last time. We didn't even get a proper goodbye before I was taken. The footsteps are right outside the tent now and my entire body is shaking so violently and my heart beating so loudly that I'm afraid the person outside will hear it.

Then I can see a form directly outside the entrance to my prison tent and I hold my breath. The tent's zipper is grasped then makes a slight squeaking sound as it is lifted, revealing the person come to get me.

I am just debating whether I should go willingly or try to make a run for it when the man speaks.

"Katniss, are you in there?"

I sit up abruptly at the voice and stare directly into the man's eyes. The dark blue eyes that I have come to love so much. My voice is caught in my throat so I am unable to respond, but I do slide out of the sleeping bag and crawl over to him. My rescuer.

"Peeta?" I finally get out. He nods fiercely, his eyes shining in the moonlight and his blond bangs in need of a trim bouncing on his forehead, and enters the tent in one swift motion. I launch myself into his outstretched arms, nearly knocking him over and begin kissing him all over his face but eventually making my way to his lips.

He holds me tighter kissing me back, making up for lost time.

"We need to go." He whispers gruffly after reluctantly pulling himself away from my lips but still keeping my securely in his arms.

"Okay." I reply weakly, and together we stand up and exit the tent. Finnick is coming quickly from the tent across from this one and we begin walking to meet him.

"Oh good, you found her." He says breathlessly, giving me a smile.

"And Madge and Annie?" Peeta asks and Finnick shakes his head sadly.

"They must have been taken to another location." I say quietly.

"Probably, so let's go find them." Finnick announces and then I notice Gale standing over two men's bodies next to the campfire.

I release Peeta's hand and run up to him.

"You killed them?" I ask, trying to look him in the eye.

"It was necessary to be able to get you out without them alerting the others." He replies roughly.

"I know, and thank you." I give him a smile then move in and also give him a quick hug. Peeta and Finnick walk up then and I reattach my hand to Peeta's.

"We should get out of here before the others wake up." Finnick says in a hushed voice.

"How many more are there?" I ask.

"Two are asleep in on of the tents over there, but I have a feeling more are close by." He replies.

"Peeta, how about you take Katniss back to the island and Gale and I'll look for the girls."

"Are you kidding me?" I hiss at him. "I'm too tired to swim all the way back in the dark and I am going to help look for my friends."

"Alright then, let's go." Gale sighs, not wanting to argue with me for which I am grateful.

We are just exiting the camp when a shout causes us all to stop mid-step and turn around, hands on our belts ready to pull out our weapons if necessary. Sure enough, three big and burly men are making their way towards us, still a little groggy from sleep. Peeta automatically pushes me behind him and at the same time draws his dagger while the others do the same. It is only now that I realize that Gale has my bow, maybe now he can take one or two of them out before they get close.

"Well well, look who came to rescue their girl, how sweet." One of the men chuckles, walking slowly nearer and nearer to us, gun pointed and ready to shoot.

"What, did you think we'd just stand around waiting for you to bring her back?" Peeta shouts back. His whole body is tense and I can tell that he is angry, more than he has been in a while. I gently place my hand on his arm and almost immediately he relaxes, but just a little.

"You do know that we're not just going to let you all walk away right?" The second man says. They are a lot closer now and I wonder why Gale hasn't even readied the bow yet. It is three against four right now and even though Finnick, Gale and Peeta are in pretty good shape, these other men are just huge, making us the outnumbered ones. All three men have there guns drawn and pointed at us now, and I can only hope that Gale is able to kill at least one of them with the bow before we all die from the deadly bullets.

"I hope you all are ready to die because we're not giving you a choice tonight." The man who had not spoken yet says loudly and I cringe. My grip tightens on Peeta's arm and I share a look with Gale. He nods slightly to me and that is when I know that he has a plan. Hopefully a smart one that will get us all out unscathed. I decide to keep them talking, hoping to keep their focus on me so that Gale will have a chance for whatever he has planned.

"Are you really sure killing us is your best option?" I begin and Finnick gives me a strange look but Gale just smiles.

"Well those are our orders and the captain knows best, so yes, it is."

"But have you even thought about what you are actually doing?" I push. "I mean, do you have any idea why you are supposed to kill us?"

"We don't need to know." The man answers and the other two nod in agreement. I send a quick glance over in Gale's direction and he is very slowly loading the bow and thankfully the three men don't seem to notice, yet. So I keep talking, looking to Finnick and Peeta to help me out.

"Have you ever considered the consequences of murdering us all right here?" Peeta puts in and the men exchange glances.

"Doesn't matter." One speaks up; who I recognize now as Mr. M. "We follow our orders, no exceptions."

"And if we kill you first?" Finnick asks with a smirk.

"I don't think that'll be happening young man." Mr. M tells him. We are now standing in a line about 15 feet from the line the three men have made. They still have their guns pointed at us but it doesn't seem like they are in so much of a hurry now.

Taking a quick peek at Gale again I relax a little because the bow is ready and all he has to do is aim and shoot, which shouldn't be too hard for him and he should be able to do it in one swift motion, taking down the first guy before they realize what is happening.

It seems like forever and I am beginning to run out of things to talk about with the men to keep them distracted but before I even can comprehend it, and arrow blurs by and imbeds itself in the heart of Mr. M. His eyes go wide and he coughs once, then twice, then falls back onto the sand. A bang from one of the guns fires and we hit the ground hard. I end up biting my lip but try to ignore the stinging and focus on getting away alive and as unhurt as possible. Gale looses another arrow but since he is in an awkward position it only it's the second man in the thigh, causing him to automatically pull the trigger on his gun. Thankfully we're already on the ground and because he was in pain and shock the bullet went over our heads. Two of the three are now on the ground, one dead, one screaming in pain while watching blood pour from the wound in his leg.

Peeta motions for me to stay down while he rolls over to Gale who is loading another arrow. He fires it but the remaining man sees it coming and dodges it. The arrow lodges itself in a tree behind them.

The man smiles in the moonlight and begins advancing towards us.

"Even if you shoot one of us you'll be dead before you can do anymore harm!" Gale shouts angrily at him.

"Yes, but then I would have at least completed part of my duty." He shouts back, now only a few feet from us. Gale has another arrow pointed at him but the man's gun is now pointed directly at my head. I swallow fearfully and hold my breath, waiting for the first move. Peeta hurries toward me and stands right in front of me. Because I am still on the ground he covers my entire body.

"You'll have to go through me first!" He yells.

"Oh goodie, two birds with one stone." The man laughs, his finger dangerously close to the trigger of his weapon.

Then suddenly three things happen at once, Gale releases the arrow, a bang from a gun is heard and someone cries out in pain. I close my eyes, afraid to open them and see what happened and who is dead.

_**Cliffhanger! Mwhahaha. Sorry its kinda short but I felt bad for not updating in so long and really wanting to get this chapter up tonight. Hope you enjoyed the excitement and I'll try to update soon.**_

_**Thanks again to those of you who reviewed the last chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one too!  
Bye!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	25. Long Night Search-Chapter 25

_**Hello! Sorry its taken me forever to get this next chapter up! And I even left you on a cliffhanger last time, I really am evil! ***__**Gasps**__*** Thanks for your patience and wonderful reviews, I really enjoyed reading every one of them. Hope you like this chapter as well, I tried to get it up to 3000 words ;) **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own THG**_

_**Chapter #25**_

(Last Time: Then suddenly three things happen at once, Gale releases the arrow, a bang from a gun is heard and someone cries out in pain. I close my eyes, afraid to open them and see what happened and who is dead.)

I slowly reopen my eyes, not wanting to face the fact that not everything is good and perfect. But curiosity gets the better of me and I take in my surroundings. The man that just a few moments ago had been pointing a gun at my head is dead and the sand is now stained red around the three dead men. But the four of us are not in perfect condition either.

Peeta is sprawled on the sand, unmoving, and Gale and Finnick are nowhere to be seen. With a groan I stand up and move quickly to Peeta's side, looking him over to find where he has been wounded. I see the blood before I actually find the injury and it makes me want to vomit. It is mostly just a flesh wound because the bullet went clean through the skin on his arm but there is a lot of blood and it must have been pretty painful if Peeta is unconscious. I take off my tank top, leaving me in just my bathing suit top, and rip the fabric around his bicep, trying to staunch the bleeding until I can get to some medical equipment.

Once that small task is completed I stand up again and look around, trying to spot a light from Finnick and Gale in the darkness. I assume that it is early morning, then remembering my watch I look at my arm to see the numbers flashing: _2:37 a.m._ No wonder I feel like I could fall asleep right now on my feet. The fire from the camp has gone out so I can hardly see anything. Finnick and Gale could be closer than I think. I decide against shouting out to them just in case more of the captain's men are nearby, and just plop down beside a limp Peeta and lay my head on his chest, careful not to disrupt his wound.

I don't fall asleep because I want to stay awake just in case of an attack or if Finnick and Gale come back. I eventually just sit up because I can't keep my eyes open while lying down. Glancing once more at my watch it shows: _3:02 a.m. _I groan and stand up, deciding to take a short walk down the beach, keeping Peeta in sight at all times, in hopes that I'll be able to see Finnick and Gale. I don't find anything and so a few minutes later I make my way back to Peeta who still is yet to move and give me any indication that he is okay.

I sit back down beside him and wait for the guys to get back so that we can go look for Madge and Annie. Maybe that's where they went. I'm just surprised that Gale didn't tell me or leave a message or anything, that could only mean that they were taken against their will. My eyes suddenly fall on some scuffled up sand and I hurry over to investigate. Squinting in the dim morning light.

There lying in the sand is the backpack that the guys must have brought with them from the island. I sling it over my shoulder and quickly return to Peeta. Sitting cross-legged on the sand I dump the contents onto my lap: A dagger, a few arrows and my bow, Gale must not have taken it with him wherever he went, and a change of clothes for Annie, Madge and I. Looking around to make sure that no one is in sight, I quickly slip out of my dirty clothes and swim suit and put on the clean mostly dry shirt and shorts picked out for me, then lounge back down beside Peeta. My watch now shows _4:00 a.m. They've been gone for an hour and a half now. I am almost positive that they were either captured or found where the girls are located. _

Just then I hear voices, and not sure whether they belong to Finnick and Gale or some of the bad guys I put the backpack on my back and grabbing Peeta's ankles so as not to hurt his arm I begin dragging him the short distance to the trees where we can be more secluded. I glad for the moment that Peeta in unconscious because even though I'm trying to be super careful I'm sure that being dragged on the sand isn't very good for his arm. After what seems like forever we come to the trees and a clump of bushes. I pull him in until we are out of sight, the voices now very close but not close enough for me to hear what they are saying or whom they belong to.

Then I realize that there will be a big mess of sand from where I dragged Peeta all the way to our hiding place. So I just sit there with sticks digging into my back and Peeta's head resting on my lap, hoping that it is either Gale and Finnick coming ever nearer or that if it is someone else that they are dumb enough not to notice the marks and footprints. It is still dark now, being as it is only 4:15a.m. and I can barely see two forms walking towards where Peeta and I were just a few minutes ago. As they get closer I recognize Gale's voice and immediately breathe a sigh of relief. I hear Finnick's a moment later and after laying Peeta's head gently on the ground I get up and hurry over to them.

Gale greets me with outstretched arms and I immediately run into my best friends embrace. He gives me a squeeze then pushes me back a bit.

"Are you okay?"

I nod, "Yeah, I was just worried that you and Finnick had been captured or something. Did you find Madge and Annie?"

"Yeah we're fine." Finnick assures me.

"And no we didn't find them." Gale adds, "But we brought all of the supplies from the tents, it just took us longer because two guys decided to take a little break right there on their way to the ship so we had to wait it out."

"We did get some information on where they are holding the girls though." Finnick says and I feel my hopes rising.

"What about Peeta? Is he okay?" Gale asks suddenly.

"He was shot in the arm but I think it's just a flesh wound. He's still out cold though." I point to where I left him and they follow the direction of my finger with their eyes.

"What do we do now?" I ask.

"We go find the girls of course." I practically jump out of my skin when Peeta says this so close to me.

"Peeta! You're okay!" I squeal and jump into his arms, completely forgetting about his wounded arm. He grunts a little but doesn't say anything. He gives me a kiss then turns to Finnick and Gale, "So you heard about where the girls might be located?"

Gale nods, "Yeah, they aren't at the ship, but at a cabin nearby."

"I hope they're okay." I whisper and Peeta puts his arms around me protectively.

"I'm sure they are fine." He assures me and I rest my head on his shoulder.

"Are you okay to walk?" Gale asks him and Peeta nods. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine."

"What about your arm?" I ask.

"The bleeding has stopped and doesn't hurt much." He tells me and I look at him skeptically. Instead of trying to convince me that he is okay he leans down and kisses my lips, leaving all of my worries behind.

"Okay then!" I say with a laugh. "Let's get going." Linking my fingers with Peeta's we follow a little behind Finnick and Gale who are walking very fast.

"How far is it?" I ask a few minutes later, beginning to feel quite tired from being up all night.

"Not sure, but this island is small and there can only be so many places to put a cabin." Gale says, giving me a little more hope than I had a few minutes ago.

"Should we split up?" Finnick suggests and I shake my head.

"I think we're better off together that way if we're attacked there are more of us and also we know where we all are. I don't like not knowing if you are alive or not."

"I agree with Katniss." Peeta says, giving my hand and encouraging squeeze.

"Course you do." Gale smirks, "But I guess we can do that."

With a smile of triumph we begin walking down the beach once again, keeping closer to the trees even though it is still quite dark for 5 a.m. The sun is barely peaking out from the far waters, giving off an orange glow to the sky so in about half an hour it'll be a lot easier to see, and also easier to be spotted.

"We'd better pick up the pace unless you want to go snooping around in broad daylight." I call up to Finnick and Gale. "Yeah, yeah, we know." Gale grumbles but does start walking faster and I hurry to catch up, practically being dragged by Peeta who, of course, has longer legs than I do.

"You know the cabin is not going to be out here in the open so we should probably head into the trees." Finnick announces after we've been walking for quite a while already and haven't seen anything, not even footprints in the sand.

"Good idea." Gale agrees and we change direction and begin walking through leaves and between trees. I notice in the morning light that the leaves and brush in this small forest on the island is quite a bit different than the one I am used to on our island. I wonder if there are different animals here as well. Peeta doesn't let go of my hand the whole time we are walking and I'm glad he doesn't; I wouldn't have let him even if he tried. The birds in the high umbrella trees are beginning to sing their morning song and it feels so peaceful out here. So normal. But it's not normal. Somewhere close two pregnant women are being held in a dingy old cabin and probably haven't even been fed. Or maybe they have. I was given food in the tent I was left in last night so maybe they are getting treated equally as well.

"How far is it now?" I ask Gale at precisely 6a.m.

"Shouldn't be too far now." He replies. "I just hope we can find it." I nod in agreement then stay silent, not wanting to alert any of the bad guys to our arrival and rescue plan. Then a thought comes to mind. _Do we even have a rescue plan?_ _Have Finnick and Gale thoroughly thought this through. Is there a plan B? _

All these questions run through my head but I decide not to bother them with my worries. But even though my mouth is silent, my mind is busy with plans. My free hand reaches down to make sure the dagger is still secured to my belt loop. It is, and the bow and arrows are in the pack that Peeta is carrying now. I didn't see any guns but they would have been useless after getting wet anyway.

All of a sudden, Gale stops dead in his tracks and the rest of us skid to an abrupt stop as well. He holds a finger to his lips so all the questions that had immediately rushed to my mouth to ask him, diminish away almost as quickly as they had come. My hunter senses are in full use and I look around us, trying to see or hear what made Gale stop. Then I hear it. Voices. Male and Female. A woman's scream pierces the silence and I see Finnick's face pale a considerable amount. It must be Annie. I can't imagine how much self-control he is using right now to stay put. If it was me and I just heard Peeta crying out I probably would have run out without thinking and gotten us both killed in the process.

We must be too far away because even though we can hear the voices even I can't make out what they are saying. I can tell that Gale is trying just as hard as I am to comprehend the voices and even more so to find Madge's. I can't decide whether it is good or bad that we haven't heard Madge. It could mean that she isn't there, she hasn't been given a reason to scream, or maybe she's gagged or hurt too bad to scream. I can't bare to think of what they are doing to them. I wish that I could take their place since I'm not pregnant. I heard being pregnant makes women more emotionally too.

Peeta lets go of my hand but brings it around my shoulders, drawing me nearer to him. I bury my face in his chest, willing myself not to cry or think about what my friends are going through. He tightens his grip and we just stay like that, waiting for Gale to give the 'all clear' signal. I then realize that I had been holding my breath and release it in one big breath, a little louder than I intended. Then, before I know it Gale has started moving forward, and since he hasn't told us to stay behind we quietly follow him, watching where we put our feet and steering clear of dry twigs and leaves. Peeta takes my hand once more and I give it a squeeze as we continue our trek.

I am beginning to think that we must have passed the spot unawares when Gale halts sharply again and the rest of us follow suit. Once again I don't try and speak but try to read Gale's body language and also listen intently to the sounds around us. I don't hear anything at first but Gale must have heard or at least sensed something to cause him to stop. I watch him closely as he releases the dagger from his belt and feeling that he is preparing for battle I slip the backpack off of Peeta's back, slowly and quietly and extract the bow and three arrows.

Finnick has his dagger and so does Peeta. Gale turns around and nods his approval then without a sound he goes charging through the brush. It takes a moment for the rest of us to respond but a few seconds after Gale has disappeared we follow after him, running full speed into the unknown. I have an arrow ready on the bow and I keep it pointed in front of me while I run. We burst into a clearing and I am not ready for the sight in front of me.

Gale has done his work quickly and already killed one guy; the remaining man has Madge in a headlock cutting of her oxygen and holds a knife to her throat. _Where's the gun?_ I think to myself but then focus on the task at hand. I don't want to shoot the arrow because by the time it would reach the guy holding her he could have already slit her throat. Gale's face has paled immensely and I turn around to find Finnick with his eyes on Annie. She is tied to a large tree and the ropes look tight. She looks as though she may faint at any moment.

Gale glances back at me and I give him a: '_What do we do now?'_ look back. His focus moves to the bow in my hand and he nods his head. My eyes go wide in shock at what he seems to be proposing but with all of our ears speaking with our eyes I know what he wants me to do, no matter what the risk. Finnick moves toward Annie, dagger in the ready to untie her bonds and I realize that he could also provide the distraction I would need to shoot the man holding Madge before he has a chance to hurt her.

Sure enough, as soon as Finnick reaches the captor sees him, "Hey! Get away from her or I slit this little lady's throat."

Gale goes even paler, if that is possible. He looks like a ghost and I have a feeling that he is not totally in his right mind at the moment. The man holding Madge takes his eyes of me for just a second but it is all I need. I lose the arrow and it goes right into the arm around Madge's neck. He hollers in pain and instantly releases Madge. She falls to the ground but Gale is already there. He stabs the guy in the heart, leaving the dagger imbedded in his jacket then goes to pick up Madge.

She is still conscious but doesn't look so good. Finnick has Annie untied and is currently holding her tightly while she sobs into his chest.

"We need to get them back to the island." Gale says, carrying his wife over to us.

"But we'll need a boat since they won't be able to swim." I say logically.

"What about the ship? We could go home!" Finnick suggests enthusiastically.

"We don't know how to get there, let alone drive a ship." Gale puts in.

"I know, but maybe someone on the crew would help us." Peeta proposes.

"Possibly." I muse.

"Should we try?" Finnick asks, not willing to give up on his idea.

"The ship is not far from here." Annie mentions weakly and Finnick grins, giving her a kiss.

"Let's go." Gale says with finality in his voice.

"I guess we're going to find a way to get home after all." I say with a smile and Peeta gives me a hug.

"It looks that way."

_**So, what did you think? Not as much action but they rescued the girls and might be on their way back home! YAY! Hope you all enjoyed it, once again thanks for the reviews, I love hearing what you thought of the chapters. This story will be coming to a close soon, but not quite yet **___

_**Until next time!**_

_**!FirePearl**_


	26. Hannah-Chapter 26

_**Hello again! I am so sorry for the delay but I've been busy and working on this chapter whenever I have had the chance. I have to warn you, I'm getting ready to move back to the states so I've been busy packing and haven't had much time to write. We are definitely nearing the end of this story, its not as long as the first one but close enough. **_

_**So this is a pretty long chapter and hopefully will make up for the delay. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, they make my day. **_

_**Well, onto the chapter, hope you enjoy it!**_

_Last Time: ("Should we try?" Finnick asks, not willing to give up on his idea. "The ship is not far from here." Annie mentions weakly and Finnick grins, giving her a kiss. "Let's go." Gale announces with finality in his voice. "I guess we're going to find a way to get home after all." I say with a smile and Peeta gives me a hug. "It looks that way.")___

_**Chapter #26~Always and Forever**_

With the prospect of going home soon and seeing Prim I am now wide-awake, eager to find the ship. Everyone else seems to be just as excited and enthusiastic and not tired as me, well except for Annie who has fallen asleep in Finnick's arms. The extra weight doesn't appear to be slowing him down any, it's a good thing that Annie weighs hardly anything, and even with the baby she probably doesn't even weigh as much as I do. Both her and Madge are about 7 months pregnant now and quite large.

I don't even notice how tired my legs are from walking all night but I do get pretty hot in the morning sunlight.

"Should we take a quick dip in the water to cool off before we continue on?" Gale asks, he is now carrying an exhausted Madge who is also sweating from the extra heat of Gale's body.

"Sounds good." Finnick agrees and starts walking towards the shore and sets Annie down beside him carefully as she begins to wake up, keeping an arm around her waist. I immediately sigh in relief as soon as my feet hit the cool, refreshing water and the tiny waves ripple over my ankles. Hand-in-hand Peeta and I run into an oncoming wave, getting totally soaked through as it crashes on top of us. Peeta pulls me up, both of us sputtering and laughing and spitting out the salt water.

Gale and Finnick have also totally emerged into the water but Madge and Annie stay behind, just letting the water splash their legs and splattering a little on their hot arms and neck.

"Better?" Peeta asks while we walk back to the sandy shore.

"Much." I reply with a smile, wiping the salt water from my eyes and shaking it from inside my ears.

We all wring out our sopping wet clothes then continue on our way to find the ship that will hopefully take us home. The girls are walking on their own now and seem to be more awake, their scary experience temporarily forgotten. We go more quickly now, covering more ground than we were before. The sun doesn't seem so hot now that we are all wet and cooled off and everyone just seems happier.

Suddenly Gale, who of course is leading the way, stops and we hurry to catch up with him and see what cause him to halt so abruptly.

"What is it?" Finnick asks, reaching him and Madge first with Annie is tow. Gale doesn't speak but just keeps his eyes forward. That is when I see it too. The tall white sails of a ship, billowing in the breeze.

"I believe we found it." Gale says with a grin and with a tug on Madge's hand begins to run towards the ship. Madge tries to keep the pace but tires much quicker because of her large stomach that is slowing her down. Gale eventually stops and lets her catch her breath and waits for the rest of us to catch up then we start out once more, just a lot slower this time, not wanting the girls to drop from exhaustion. Excitement begins building up inside of me, threatening to bubble out my ears if we don't get there soon. I keep trying to tell myself that we might not be able to get the ship or convince the crew to bring us back to Panem, but just the possibility of seeing Prim again covers over all my fears leaving just the excitement.

Ten minutes later the entire ship is in sight and Peeta literally has to hold me back to keep me from sprinting right out into the water and climbing up the side of the ship, and probably get myself shot in the process. Gale holds a finger to his lips and taking Madge's hand leads the way, keeping close to the trees so as not to be seen before we get close enough to do anything. Peeta grabs my hand and squeezes it encouragingly and I give him a smile in return.

About five minutes later of steady walking Gale stops the group. Looking up I can see a few sailors walking around on the deck of the ship. It's a pretty large ship but nothing like our luxury cruise ship. It is anchored out in the water a little ways but we still stay near the protection of the trees so as not to be seen.

"So, what's the plan?" Finnick asks after a few minutes of silence.

"I guess some of us will swim out to the ship and make sure that it's safe and that we can get passageway back home, then we'll come and get the girls."

"Who all is going to go?" I ask, hoping that they won't make me stay and watch the girls.

"Well I'm thinking that one of the guys should stay with the girls just in case of attack." Gale says. "So three of us will go, three will stay."

A smile forms on my mouth when he says this because it means that I am one of the three that will be swimming to the ship and taking over.

"I'll stay." Finnick volunteers, hugging Annie close.

"But I don't want you to go!" Madge whimpers, melting into Gale's side.

"Finnick will be here with you honey. I won't be long, and when I come back we'll be heading home." Gale promises, kissing her softly. Madge nods and wipes her eyes with her arm, "Okay." She whispers.

Then the three of us, Peeta, Gale and I, splash into the water and begin swimming the short way to the ship. With long overhead strokes it only takes about five minutes to arrive at the base of the boat, then while treading water we wait for Gale to tell us the plan since we weren't smart enough to talk about it before we left the island.

"Okay," Gale begins and Peeta and I try to listen to his whisper while keeping our heads above water. "Since we don't have any guns, we're going to be as quiet as possible until we can take down one of the guards and take his gun, then we'll announce our arrival."

"Got it." I say, nodding in agreement.

"How are we getting up?" Peeta asks, looking up the side of the boat, his eyes going wide.

"You'll see." Gale smirks and we just look at him like he's gone crazy. But then, a yell pierces the silence, "Man overboard!" Sure enough, a splash is heard half a second later and after another second a rope is thrown over the side of the boat.

"That's how." Gale grins and begins swimming towards the rescue rope.

"So much for not letting anyone know we're here until we get a gun." I whisper to Peeta then we too follow Gale to the rope that will get us up on deck. Surprisingly Gale is pulled up on deck and after a few moments we hear shouts and then two men are thrown overboard and the rope is also lowered back down to us.

Peeta grins and allows me to climb up first then Gale and I help pull him up as well. My hands get a little red from the rope but I don't really notice since we are on the ship that could possibly take us home.

"Only two guys on the deck?" Peeta asks Gale and he nods in response. "I think the captain had most of them on the island and only left a few here to protect the ship."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Peeta shrugs then says, "What now?"

"Now, we go find the captain and if he refuses to bring us back to Panem then we'll throw him overboard and find someone else." Gale replies.

"I doubt he agree to that." I mutter, almost positive that the captain would rather die than bring the people he's been trying to kill all this time safely back home.

"Let's go then, I don't want to be away from Madge too long." Gale says and we start making our way to the captain's cabin, wherever it may be. Peeta takes my hand, giving it a squeeze, and together we follow Gale through a door and down a long carpeted hallway much like the one on our cruise ship, opening every unlocked door and checking inside. Most of the rooms are empty, but a few have a suitcase or two in them, probably for the crew. They definitely aren't as nice or fancy as the ones on our cruise ship but quite comfortable looking nonetheless.

"I don't think he's on this floor." Gale eventually says, stopping abruptly.

"It would make sense for the captain to have his private quarters on the main deck of the ship though wouldn't it?" I say, looking between Gale and Peeta.

Peeta nods, "It does, so the only explanation is that he is in one of the locked rooms or on a different floor."

"Obviously." Gale smirks and I glare at him.

"So, do you think that you could break down a few of the locked doors?" I ask, directing my question to Gale, not because I don't think that Peeta couldn't do it but because I _know_ Gale could do it, oh I don't know.

"Probably." Gale says, bringing me from my thoughts. ""They don't look too sturdy anyways."

"Great." I grin and rub my hands together excitedly. "Just try not to make too much of a ruckus and alert everyone to our presence."

"I'll try" Gale smirks again, then makes his way to one of the locked doors. With one strong kick the thin wooden door swings open but we are met with an empty room so we move on to the next one. Peeta breaks this one down with ease but frowns when it too is empty.

"There's only one more locked room then we'll search upstairs." Gale announces and easily kicks down this door as well. It too is empty except for a suitcase sitting in one corner, but the room doesn't resemble what captain's quarters should look like in my opinion so we continue on our search, quietly closing the doors behind us. The rooms on the next floor are fancier than the ones from below and I have a feeling that the captain's quarters are close by.

"It should be here." Gale mutters under his breath while we continue down a hallway, checking each and every door.

"This is it." Peeta announces proudly, standing in front of a door larger than the others, at the end of the hallway.

"How do you know that?" Gale asks, eyeing him skeptically.

"The sign on the door." He grins pointing at the engraved letters on the door that read: _Captain's Quarters._ I chuckles and pat Peeta on the back. "Good work."

"Just keeping my eyes open, unlike some people." He replies, smirking at Gale. Gale ignores him and tries the doorknob. Of course it is locked securely, "I don't think you'll be kicking down this door." I tell him and he nods in agreement.

"So what is our plan of action?" I ask, trying to think of a great idea but coming up with nothing.

"We don't have one." Gale grumbles.

"I'm sure there is someone inside tending to him that will have to come out eventually." Peeta says, "So I guess we just wait for that then we sneak in before the door closes."

"Sounds good." I agree, giving his hand a squeeze.

"So where do we wait out?" I ask, looking around.

"I'm hungry so I suggest that I go get us some food while you two wait here." Gale replies, already making his way down the hallway away from us.

"Okay then." I agree reluctantly. "But bring us something too, I'm starved."

He just waves his hand without turning around then rounds the corner, leaving Peeta and I alone in the semi dark hallway.

"Wonder how long we'll have to wait." Peeta whispers, slouching down the side of the wall onto the floor, then pulling me down gently beside him.

"Hopefully it's not too long, I know Gale doesn't want to leave Madge back there even though she's technically safe with Finnick watching over both her and Annie."

"Yeah." He replies and slips his arm around my waist. "We haven't had much time alone. I miss it." He ends with his voice barely a whisper.

"So do I." I say, cuddling closer to him and resting my head on his shoulder. This isn't my ideal place to catch up on lost time with my husband but it's the next best place, I guess. He leans down and places a soft kiss on my lips, causing my eyes to open. I smile up at him then close my eyes again, pressing my lips back to his. Peeta sighs in contentment and pulls me onto his lap, placing gentle kisses all over my face and down my jawline. My fingers tangle into his blonde girls and his slide up under my tank top, rubbing comforting designs all over my back.

"I love you." Peeta whispers while pressing kisses to my lips.

"I love you too." I reply, then push back a little. "Gale should be back anytime."

"So?" Peeta grins, giving me another kiss and pulling me back to him.

"I don't want to make him feel awkward." I reply.

"He does it with Madge enough, we should be fine." Peeta tells me while getting in another kiss.

"If you say so." I chuckle, then am interrupted by a rumbling coming from my stomach.

"Hungry?" He smiles and pats my stomach.

"Very." I reply, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Dinner is served!" I quickly look up to see Gale with an entire cart loaded with delicious smelling food. Hopping off of Peeta I hurry over to him with Peeta close behind.

"Where did you get all this food?" I inquire and Gale just smiles, "It's a secret." I just shrug and grab a steaming hot roll from a platter and bite into it, literally groaning out loud with contentment. We each grab a plate and load it with the steaming food then sit down in the middle of the hallway to enjoy our feast whilst we wait for the door to open. There is more food on the cart than I've seen in weeks: rolls, soup, premade sandwiches, different kinds of cold meats and drinks as well.

"This. Is. Amazing!" I gush, stuffing in more food that I will later regret eating. "Sure is." Peeta agrees, lifting a slice of chocolate cake onto his plate then says, "Seriously Gale, how did you get all of this food?"

"I just walked into the kitchen and the cooks loaded the cart for me." He replies.

"That seems hard to believe."

"Yeah well, does it really matter? I mean, we got the food so who really cares how I got it?" Gale mutters in between bites of a sandwich.

"Has it occurred to you that this could possibly be a trap and the food be poisoned?" I point out to Gale.

"Katniss." He begins, a pained expression on his face. "Do you really think I'd forget to do something that important?"

"I would've never thought of it." Peeta says.

"Yeah, but you're a baker and we're hunters, big difference." Gale retorts, then turns back to me, "I made the cooks try one thing from every dish to make sure and none of them fell over or anything so I assume its all good."

"Okay, that makes me feel better." I smile at him and dish myself another bowl of the delicious tasting soup. I have the spoon halfway to my mouth when I hear I door being opened slowly and it occurs to me that the people in the room have probably known we were here since we arrived since we haven't exactly been whispering. In one swift motion Gale sets his plate down and plucks his dagger from his belt. It is about now that I wish we had a gone to make this whole ordeal a whole lot easier. But since we don't Peeta and I follow suit and retrieve our weapons. By now the door is open and a young girl, not Colette, in a maid's uniform looks at us curiously. In a loud voice so as probably to alert those inside she says, "Have you brought the captain's afternoon meal?"

Peeta immediately nods and places his knife back in his belt. Then something surprising happens, the girl who is probably only 15 or 16 closes the door behind her and walks toward us confidently. "Are you here for the captain?" She whispers and we all nod slowly, not sure what side this girl is on.

"I've heard about you and have been wanting to help you all but they never let me off the boat."

"You-you want to help us?" Peeta asks he sweetly and the girl nods.

"What's your name?" I ask he, still skeptical.

"Hannah." She replies shyly. She has shoulder length golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She is short than I am, quite small for her age but still quite beautiful for a maid.

"And you're going to help us?" Gale inquires and she nods enthusiastically.

"I was taken from my home in Panem, District 4, to work on this ship against my will and every time I try to escape the captain's goons find me and bring me back."

"Would you happen to have a gun handy?" Peeta grins, gesturing to our feeble weapons.

Hannah just smiles and lifts up her blouse, revealing a gun tucked securely in her black and white skirt.

"Why haven't you used until now?" Gale probes.

"It's only me, I'm not going to take on a whole bunch of men with two or three guns each." She replies, in a louder whisper.

"So there is no one else on the ship who is against the captain?" I ask, a little disappointed.

"Not that I know of." She shakes her head sadly.

Just then a voice sounds from the room that she just exited, "Hannah! Where is my food?" "Coming." The girl calls back, then turns to us.

"Okay, so I'm going to bring the cart in and I'll give you my gun." She hands it to Gale and he accepts it thankfully. "You'll await my signal then you'll enter the room and shoot down the guards who are around the captain. The captain is in bed, sick from a wound, so he has no weapons on him. He relies fully on his guards to protect him."

"Okay, but what will your signal be?" Peeta inquires.

"When I say, _You have some visitors, _Then I'll expect you three to come in and quickly shoot down the guards, there are three of them, before anyone else can react, I'll try my best to distract them."

"Good." I give her a smile and she returns the gesture. "Be safe." She nods then pulling the half eaten cart behind her she enters the room and we sit down to wait for her signal. Gale checks the gun to find it fully loaded with six bullets, he grins and tucks it into his pants. "I'll go in first and shoot down the guards." He announces and we don't object since he is the man with the only gun.

"We should have checked those guys on deck that you took down for guns." I grumble to Gale.

"I did, and they were clean. Guess the sailors don't get guns." He replies quietly. During the time that Hannah is inside the room we only hear muffled voices but suddenly a clear voice is heard saying, _"You have some visitors captain, should I send them in?" _ We wait a moment then Gale burst in the room. Three gunshots sound one after the other and when Peeta and I enter all three guards are fallen to the ground, dead. The captain, who is currently eating his meal in bed has his fork half way to his mouth, and is staring at us in utter horror.

"Nice to see you again captain." Gale smirks, keeping his gun and remaining three bullets pointed at the sick man. Hannah has slowly backed away and is now standing by us, out of reach of the captain.

"What do you want?" The captain asks, his hands put up in surrender.

"We want you to bring us back to Panem, safely on the boat." Gale replies sternly.

"Never!" The man shouts the winces in pain and starts coughing.

"Look, you're in no condition to be dealing with this. All we want is for your sailors to set of and sail us back home and we'll let the rest of you live." Gale explains.

The captain seems to be thinking over our proposal for a moment but then I notice his hand moving slowly over to a red button next to the bed. Before I can yell out a warning he has pressed it and a few seconds later 6 big sailor men enter the room, all with pistols drawn and pointed at the four of us.

"Throw them overboard." The captain orders and we all stare at him with surprise that he isn't just killing us now, not that we are going to complain. He seems to notice our confused faces and says, "You were going to let me live so I'm doing the same." Without another word we are all grab roughly by one of the men, two have to grab each Gale and Peeta, and the drag us down the stairs to the main deck, then, one by one, throw us overboard. As soon as my body hits the water I resurface, spluttering and spitting out the salt water that entered my system. Peeta comes up next, then Gale and lastly Hannah who is currently ripping off her uniform that is just causing extra wait and is soon only in a bathing suit. She was prepared.

"What do we do know?" She asks, swimming up to us.

"We go get the girls and Finnick then we wait for another plan."

"Like that one?" She asks, pointing to a large ship rounding the side opposite the one we are at. We begin waving frantically and the guys rip off their shirts and begin waving those as well. In big letters _Panem_ is engraved on the side of the ship and I feel my hopes rise.

"We're going home!" Peeta grins lifting me up easily in the water and planting a wet and salty kiss on my lips. I sigh and smile back, "Yes Peeta, we're going home."

_**Yay! Finally! Not what you expected huh? Or maybe you guessed. Whatever, I hope you enjoyed it! I think it is one of my longest chapters yet! I just couldn't stop writing! Haha. **_

_**Fire Fighters FFA daughter: well here is your update, hope you liked it. Love your name btw, my dad was a firefighter for a long time in Canada when I was little, so that's cool **____** Thanks for the review!**_

_**Ilovepeeta4ever: Awe thank you! That makes me feel so good, hope you liked this chapter too! **_

_** .swag: Still sorry that your name never is correct when I post it :P Haha no problem, I haven't been updating very often either. So glad you liked it! Yeah, I just couldn't have them apart for too long. Thanks again!**_

_**Philippa (Guest): Haha that's what I was aiming for, hope this one was just as exciting for ya. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**FearlesswithHimJC: Yeah they are pretty far along now, guess you'll see what happens. Yeah I checked out your story, great job so far! I just have the regular kindle with the keypad, not the fire or touchscreen. Haha yeah that would probably be a good idea, thanks. Thank you for the review **___

_**Katniss72500: Yay! Well I think you'll be getting your wish in the next chapter. ***__**wink wink**__*** Thank you so much!**_

_**Fangirl in a fandom world: lol, so glad you get into it **____** Thanks so much!**_

_**HGFan4719: Awe I'm so glad! Hope you liked this one, Thanks!**_

_**So only 8 reviews but that's still pretty good. Well this chapter is over 4000 words now so I'd better end it before you get bored ;) Thanks again for reading and I apologize for any mistakes. Until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	27. Homeward Bound-Chapter 27

_**Hey I'm back with an early chapter for you all, yay! So I think there will only be a chapter or two left plus an epilogue after that….can't believe this story is coming to a close already! Thanks so much for all the reviews for the last chapter, sorry this one isn't near as long as usual but I didn't want it to be totally boring so I ended it **____** For those of you who read the last chapter I posted for 'Together' you know that I will be moving back to the states in a week so I've been real busy packing and I don't know when the next chapter will be up…you've been warned!**_

_**Thanks again, hope you enjoy this chapter **___

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games…**_

Always&Forever #27

_(Last Time__: "Like that one?" She asks, pointing to a large ship rounding the side opposite the one we are at. We begin waving frantically and the guys rip off their shirts and begin waving those as well. In big letters __Panem__ is engraved on the side of the ship and I feel my hopes rise._

_"We're going home!" Peeta grins lifting me up easily in the water and planting a wet and salty kiss on my lips. I sigh and smile back, "Yes Peeta, we're going home.")_

"Don't worry, we are here to rescue you." A voice sounds from speakers on the ship. We stop yelling and wait a few moments before a rope ladder is thrown over the side of the large ship and they tell us to begin climbing up one at a time. We motion for Hannah to go first then I follow behind her. Gale brings up the rear after Peeta. The sailors on the boat pull us onto the deck where we stand dripping wet staring at our rescuers.

"Mr. Hawthorne?" An older man who looks like the captain asks and Gale nods his head.

"And I recognize you two as well." He smiles at Peeta and I, "Mr. and Mrs. Mellark am I right?"

We both nod and Peeta links my hand together with his.

"There were others with you though right?" He asks, gesturing to the three of us, Hannah is standing off to the side looking over the side of the boat.

"Yes, my wife and two friends of ours are still on the island waiting for us." Gale explains, shaking the water and seaweed from his dark hair.

"We shall retrieve them at once." The man announces then gives orders to his crew to turn back to our island and pick the others up, then turning back to us he says, "We have dry clothes for you in the cabins, go ahead and change." Peeta and I nod and then are led to a fairly large cabin with a queen-sized bed and a good-sized closet filled with both men and women's clothing.

Gale decides to stay out on deck until Madge is on board and safely in his arms again and I don't blame him for doing it.

"Wow, it'll be nice to sleep in a real bed again won't it?" Peeta sighs, refraining himself from sitting down on the white fluffy comforter in his wet shorts.

"Yeah, it sure will." I grin. We find towels in our small bathroom and instead of changing into dry clothes immediately we hop into the shower to scrub ourselves clean after not having a real shower in almost 7 months. It feels amazing to have the warm water cascading down my back and the sudsy sweet smelling soap all over my body and in my hair, making us clean again.

"Feel better?" Peeta smiles, handing me a soft white towel once our shower is complete.

"Much." I reply, taking the towel from him and rubbing myself dry.

I then wrap my hair up in the towel and head over to the closet to find some clothes. Surprisingly they all look to be my size and underclothes are even included in the deal for which I am thankful. I didn't want to put any of my previous clothes back on.

"Find anything?" Peeta asks, already dressed in a pair of shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt.

"Yeah." I reply, holding up a sundress since I didn't feel like wearing shorts again and the dress makes me feel free. Once I'm dressed I finish drying my hair and braid it down my back like always. Peeta and I also find shoes in our double closet and we both choose a pair of comfortable looking sandals.

"Should we head back out to see if they've gotten the others yet?" Peeta suggests and I nod in agreement, taking his hand once more. Sure enough when we come on deck the men are just pulling a drenched Finnick over the side of the ship, Annie is standing near waiting for him and Madge is being held in Gale's arms, crying softly. I'm guessing that it is just happy crying. Pregnant women. He takes his very pregnant wife to their cabin once she can walk alone again and soon it is just Finnick and Annie left with us.

"I can't believe we're finally going home." Finnick chuckles, pulling a wet Annie into his side.

"I never thought it'd actually happen." I add.

"I'm sure glad it did though." Annie says quietly, although a big smile is plastered on her face and I can tell that she is just thrilled.

"You two had better go get showered and changed, trust me it feels amazing." Peeta tells them laughing and Finnick nods, "I'm sure it does, we'll see you later." Then the two of them also disappear down the hallway to their cabin.

"We're sorry it took so long to find you…" We turn around suddenly to find the captain leaning over the side of the ship, staring at the island behind us.

"Well at least you did. How did you figure out that something had happened?" Peeta inquires.

"Well, after the ship had been gone a couple of months or so then we began to get worried, then we heard about the man that claimed to be captain of it and knew we had to find you. We knew you wouldn't be dead, you're smart kids."

I smile when he calls us kids.

"I have to ask though, is he still alive?"

"The captain?" I ask and he nods.

"Yeah, he's wounded and in bed though." I reply, pointing to the other ship not too far off.

"We were just in talking to him before you came." Peeta explains. "Tried to convince him to sail us back but he got his men to throw us overboard so I guess he really is evil."

"I knew that from the beginning." I mutter and the captain smiles, "Don't worry, he won't be getting away with anything."

A few minutes later we are quite close to the bad guys' ship and within shooting range of the men on deck but we refrain and just keep sailing on by. We get quite a few ugly looks but no one does anything to stop us.

Then suddenly a loud noise comes from the other ship and huge guns begin protruding from the side.

"I knew this would happen, they just couldn't let us go without a fight." The captain grumbles, then begins shouting to his crew, "All hands on deck! Get out the canons!"

"Canons?" I look to Peeta and he shrugs.

The first shot is fired from the enemy and barely misses the side of the boat. The captain yells for the men to hurry up and soon three big canons are pointed at the smaller ship. All the commotion causes Finnick, Annie, Hannah, Madge and Gale to come out on deck to see what is happening. The shots are deafening and I have to cover my ears tightly. Both ships exchange a few more shots, we don't get hit but we do end up hitting the tail end of the other ship but it doesn't do much damage.

"Let's end this!" Our captain shouts and before I can react the biggest cannon ball I've ever seen goes flying towards the enemy ship. At first nothing happens, then the entire ship goes up in flames and explodes, pieces of wood go flying everywhere and even land on our ship. Only a few minutes later nothing remains, only a few smoldering pieces from the once great ship floating on the water.

Cheers then erupt from everyone on board and Peeta lifts me up, swinging me around in happiness.

"We won't have to worry about them bothering us every again." He grins, planting a kiss on my lips.

Gale is hugging a teary Madge tightly and I swear I see something shining in his eyes as well, although Gale Hawthorne would never admit to crying. Finnick has swung Annie up in his arms and is running around on deck with her laughing until she begs him to put her down because she can't breathe. I haven't felt this much happiness since my wedding or when we took over Panem, now hopefully we won't have any more problems and can live peacefully in District 12.

Peeta and I stand at the side of the ship as our island and the destroyed boat fade out of view and the sun begins to go down.

"Dinner is served!" The captain announces and we all quickly file into the large dining room where a big round table is set for the 7 of us at the captain's table.

Hannah is now in a flowy pink skirt and top, her hair is down and a smile is upon her face. I'm so glad she wasn't still on the ship when we destroyed it, I'm glad we could save her.

There is so much food that after only one plate full I can't eat another bite. The guys however, especially Finnick who didn't get a snack like we did, eats at least four plates.

"So, how long will it take us to get back to District 4?" Hannah asks sweetly.

"Oh about three or four days, you can think of it as the end of your vacation since it was cut short." The captain replies with a smile.

"We got more like an 8 month vacation." Gale smirks, "But it'll be nice to have a real bed again."

"I'm sure it will be, I can't imagine."

"Oh it wasn't _that_ bad." I assure him.

"We had quite the adventure." Peeta agrees with me, squeezing my knee under the table.

When most of the food is gone Finnick speaks, "Well this was just amazing but Annie is tired so we'll be heading to our room now."

"Thank you so much." Annie smiles shyly, latching onto Finnick's hand.

"Good night." I call after them and Annie waves back.

"I think we'll call it a night as well." Peeta says, looking at me. I nod and push my chair backwards.

"Thanks again for rescuing us." I say and then taking Peeta's hand we make our way back to our inviting looking cabin and bed.

I end up putting on the shirt that Peeta was just wearing and using it as a nightgown seeing as it comes to my knees.

"Ah, this bed is so nice." Peeta sighs, snuggling down into the blankets and pulling me down with him.

"I don't ever want to leave." I mumble laying my head on his chest. He in turn wraps his arms around my waist, drawing me nearer and burying his face in my clean hair.

"How about we just stay in bed until we arrive in District 4." Peeta suggests and I chuckle, "That sounds nice. We might get a little hungry though."

"We can just get them to bring our meals to our room."

"Yeah we could."

"I guess we'll se how we feel in the morning."

"Okay, good night Peeta."

"Night Kat." He kisses my head then I close my eyes and fall asleep to the steady beat of his heart.

When I wake up the next morning Peeta is still asleep and the clock next to the bed reads: _10a.m. _I stay still so as not to wake him up but it is only a few minutes before he stirs and opens his eyes.

"Morning sleeping beauty." He smiles, kissing my nose.

"Hey, how did you sleep?"

"Perfectly." He kisses me again, this time on the lips.

"Me too." I reply. "But I'm really hungry again."

"I could use some breakfast too." He says, sitting up and running his hand through his hair.

I throw the blankets off of me and slide off the bed, heading straight towards the closet for something to wear. I decide upon a knee length flowy skirt and a light blue sleeveless top with blue flip-flops.

Peeta pulls on the shorts he wore yesterday but finds a different shirt seeing as I slept in the one he wore yesterday and it is a bit wrinkled. After re-braiding my hair and brushing my teeth we make our way down to the dining room for breakfast.

I'm not surprised when we are the only two in the dining room except for Hannah who is sitting by herself eating her breakfast and reading a book, she doesn't even notice when we walk in.

"The others either ate already or are still in bed." Peeta muses while we walk over to the buffet table.

"I'd probably go with the latter seeing as two of them are pregnant and most likely extra tired."

"Yeah, you're right."

Peeta piles his plate high with bacon, eggs, toast and even some things that I've never seen before. I am not as hungry so I settle with yoghurt and a bowl of fruit along with a mug of hot chocolate. We find a table for two and settle down to eat.

"What do you want to do today?" Peeta asks, I guess he forgot about his idea for staying in bed until we get home.

"I don't know, I think I've had enough swimming for a while but maybe they have some different entertainment on the boat. I mean the people on board had to have something to do on their way over."

"Well then after breakfast how about we explore the ship." He suggests and I nod, unable to speak due to the large chunk of pineapple in my mouth.

"Sounds good." I agree after swallowing.

"Good, I have a feeling that the others will be in their cabins most of the day." With a wink he pushes his chair back and heads back to the buffet for another plate full. Men. They eat like horses and an hour to later they act they are starving and haven't eaten in days. I chuckle to myself and scrape out the remains of my yoghurt and finish off my luke warm hot chocolate.

When Peeta returns his plate is just as loaded as the last one and I have a feeling I'll be sitting here a while longer, not that I mind.

"You know everyone back home is going to be pretty surprised when we just walk up and knock on your mom's front door." Peeta jokes in between bites of scrambled eggs and buttered toast.

"Yeah, they probably all think that we're all dead or never coming back." I reply.

"Prim will never let you out of her sight after this." He chuckles and I nod my head in agreement, "Yeah, probably not. But that's okay."

Peeta smiles again and reaches across the table to give my hand a squeeze.

About ten minutes later his plate is empty and after downing the rest of his juice he helps me up and we begin our day of exploring on the boat.

_**So, they're all safe and sound and on their way home. And the captain and his goons are gone for good! Yay. Don't worry, if there are any more hiding out on the island they will eventually die from starvation or something ;) **_

_**Thanks again to all you who reviewed, sorry for any mistakes…until next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


	28. Finnick JR Chapter 28

_**Wow, it's been way to long. It's been almost a month since my last chapter! I sure hope you all haven't forgotten this story! I'm so sorry I've just been super busy, being back in the states and all and haven't had much time to write. So this is the end of the story/sequel, I think I'll put in one more chapter or an epilogue, not sure yet. **_

_**Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry its pretty short but I felt really bad about not updating and wanted to get something out for all my wonderful readers **___

_**Thanks again and to all of you who reviewed and have stuck with the story…**___

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games!**_

_**Chapter #28**_

The next three days go by relatively quickly. Peeta and I soon find out that there is much to do on the ship and pass the time with ease. We don't see much of the others. Hannah pretty much keeps to herself and Madge and Annie are in their rooms with their husbands mostly except for meal times. Peeta and I spend a lot of time at the pool but we also go to the theatre that is on board and I get a massage once a day. Peeta even convinced me to get a pedicure and manicure, it wasn't that bad actually.

We eat a lot of food, and I just can't seem to get enough of the delicacies we are served at each mea l.

The news we have been waiting for since we got onto the boat comes when we are least expecting it. Peeta and I are lounging in the hot tub on the top deck with Madge and Gale just chatting, mostly about the baby Madge is carrying. She looks even larger now, her protruding belly making it harder for her to get around or even sleep. Gale, apparently the expert, tells everyone that she probably only has a few days left. Annie is doing as well and has been spending most of her time in her hotel room, occasionally kicking Finnick out for some fresh sea air.

Madge is just saying that our trip shouldn't last much longer considering today is the fourth day of our journey when one of the sailors on the deck below us starts yelling.

"Land! Land ahead!" I literally jump out of the hot tub as soon as he says this and after helping Peeta out and waving backwards to Madge and Gale, drag him back to our cabin to begin preparing for our arrival. I just catch the sound of the captain's voice before we close the door, "We shall be docking in District 4 in approximately 2 hours.

We don't really have much to pack up but I want to feel as if I am doing something productive during the next two hours.

"Kat! Slow down." Peeta chuckles, grabbing my waist and pulling me down onto the bed beside him.

"I'm sorry." I apologize, "I'm just so excited to get back to our house and to see Prim that I just need to do something!"

"I know, I'm excited too." He smiles, kissing my head sweetly. "But we'll probably have to get a hotel in District 4, then catch the next flight to D12 tomorrow morning since by the time we dock it'll be dinner time."

"Okay Peeta." I agree and nestle my head into his side. We lay like that for about the next half hour then I can't sit still any longer and sit up abruptly.

"Okay." Peeta relents, sitting up as well. "Let's get our things together then we can stand on deck as we get closer."

"Thanks." I smile and kiss him quickly. Grabbing our one backpack off the floor I stuff our swimsuits and few belongings that came with us off the cruise ship inside. That only takes about five minutes and when we're done the backpack isn't even totally full. I take my hair out of my braid just to have something to do, and after brushing it thoroughly I re-braid it in my signature braid.

"Ready?" Peeta asks as I slip on my sandals and smooth out my sundress.

"Yes." I reply with a smile and hold my hands out and he pulls me up off of the bed where I was sitting before. Hand in hand we leave our room and make our way up to the main deck to watch the stretch of land become ever nearer.

About half an hour later my legs are beginning to tire so Peeta and I settle down into two beach chairs but we can still see over the rail. Hannah joins us a few minutes later with a tray of refreshing drinks.

"So will you going back to your home in District 4 once we get back?" Peeta asks the young girl, taking a sip of his drink.

"If my parents are still alive and living there then that is where I'll be heading once we dock."

"Well I hope everything works out for you Hannah, I'm so glad we met you." Peeta smiles and Hannah smiles shyly back at him.

Just then Finnick, Annie, Madge and Gale step out on deck and Finnick and Gale each pull up a comfortable chair for their wives.

"I can't believe that we're actually almost home." Annie sighs and Finnick reaches for her hand and with his free one rubs gentle circles on her large belly.

"I'm just glad that I didn't have to give birth on the island or on a ship." Madge laughs and Gale chuckles beside her, nodding his agreement quite enthusiastically, I don't blame him either.

"It's too bad we weren't able to bring the baby things and everything we found on the island with us." Annie says sadly.

"Yeah, we don't really have anything to serve as a souvenir do we?" Gale says.

"I do!" Peeta exclaims, reaching into his shorts pocket. We all lean in closer to examine the things in his hand and I immediately recognize the strange looking coins that we found so long ago in the chest.

"Oh and I still have your mini bow Catnip." Gale grins and I jump up.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I almost shout, not angrily, just a little put out that he kept that from me.

"I wanted it to be a surprise."

"I've spent the last few days kicking myself for not bringing it and you had it all along!" I playfully lean over and punch his arm.

"Hey! That hurt!" He rubs his bicep faking hurt and Madge croons and kisses it for him, apparently making it all better.

"Baby." I say under my breath and Gale glares at me.

"I'll make sure Gale gives it to you." Madge promises and so I don't press any further.

The land is even closer now and we are able to see the few tall buildings in District 4, and a few minutes later even the large '4' on one of them along with their signature symbol of a fish.

"We're getting close." Annie whispers, growing excitement evident in her voice.

"I'm guessing you two live in the victors village right?" Hannah asks and Annie nods.

"We do, and where do you live?"

"In the poorer part of town, my father is a fisherman, but we live comfortably."

"That's good, but remember that if you ever need anything don't hesitate to stop by." Hannah gives Annie a grateful look and Annie smiles back. Then all of a sudden her face goes real pale and she clutches her stomach in pain.

Finnick jumps up, not really knowing what is going on or what he should do but feeling that he should do something to help relieve his wife's distress.

"My water just broke." Anne tells him and that is when we all notice the puddle under her chair.

"It's a good thing we're almost there, we'll go straight to the hospital." Gale announces, trying to calm Finnick down who has also gone quite pale.

Five minutes later another round of contractions are happening and Annie is just moaning in pain with Finnick sitting awkwardly next to her, hugging her close and pressing kisses to her face while whispering encouraging words.

"Never would have expected this." Gale says and we all nod in agreement.

"It's a good thing she won't be giving birth on the boat though." Peeta says, finding the good in a situation, like always.

"Yeah that's definitely something to be thankful for." Finnick sighs, pulling Annie closer who seems to be over the contractions for the moment and is back to breathing normally.

"We shall be docking in approximately thirty minutes!" The captain's voice is heard of the speakers of the ship. _Only half an hour left._ I think to myself, folding my hands tightly in my lap. _Tomorrow I'll be seeing Prim, I wonder if she thinks I'm dead or if she still hopes I'll show up on her doorstep one day…_

The next thirty minutes go by excruciatingly slow and to me it seems that we will never come to District 4. But when we do my whole body is practically shaking with excitement.

Annie on the other hand isn't doing so well. Her contractions on burst of pain are coming closer together and from her groans and shrieks of pain they seem to be coming more and more powerful. Finnick pretty much carries her across the landing, onto the dock then runs towards the District 4 hospital with the rest of us following closely behind. For the life of me I can't see how Finnick carries his very pregnant wife while running at least a mile and doesn't even slow down. Must come with the fact that he's so nervous and all that he doesn't think about it.

It doesn't take long to arrive at the hospital and when we do, Hannah along with us, we get so many stares that no one seems to be able to help us. They must think we're all dead. Finally Gale yells something that I don't quite catch but all the nurses and doctors standing by seem to understand.

A wheelchair is brought for Annie and they push her away with Finnick following, leaving us to wait in the waiting room.

"If it's alright I think I may walk down and see my family, if they're still there. I'll come back later to check on Annie." Hannah says, standing up.

"Sure, we'll see you later." Peeta smiles and we all wave as she walks out the door.

"What now?" I ask, looking from face to face.

"How about you three wait here and I see if I can get us a hotel to stay at tonight." Peeta suggests. "It'll give me something to do." He adds with a sheepish smile.

"Sounds good." I agree and Gale nods.

Peeta then stands up and after giving me a kiss also walks out the door.

The chairs in the waiting room are surprisingly comfortable and I snuggle down into the one I am sitting in. Gale has Madge on his lap and his arm around her middle; she looks almost asleep to me.

I must have fallen asleep as well because what seems like only a few moments later Peeta is gently shaking me awake.

"Annie had her baby!" He whispers, a huge grin plastered across his face.

I jump out of the chair, no trace of sleepiness left on my face, and let Peeta pull me to their hospital room. Madge and Gale are already there and Finnick is sitting on the edge of the bed next to Annie who has a tiny form in her arms, all wrapped up in blankets with a tiny face poking out.

"Say hello to our son." Finnick smiles, tears of joy around his eyes.

"What's his name?" I ask quietly.

"We decided Finnick Jr. I just couldn't bare him not having his Father's name. We'll call him Finn." Annie tells us, a tired smile on her lips.

"He's beautiful." Madge says, walking over to stroke his tiny head.

"You must be so proud." Peeta grins, patting his friend on the back.

"Couldn't be happier." Finnick replies, kissing his baby son then his wife.

"Well we'll let you get some rest." Gale says, "But we'll stop by in the morning before we head back home."

"Alright, did you find a hotel?" Finnick asks and Peeta nods, "Yeah I got one while we were waiting."

"Oh good, well see you in the morning then."

I give Annie a smile then taking Peeta's hand, walk out of the room with Madge and Gale following behind, a little slower.

"How far is this hotel you reserved for us?" Gale inquires once we're outside in the evening air.

"Oh its just around the corner, not far." Peeta assures him.

"Good, because Madge looks like she's about to drop."

"Gale, I'm fine." She tells him, but her eyes droop and I can tell she's exhausted.

Five minutes later Peeta announces our arrival and after getting our keys at the front desk head up the elevator to our rooms.

We say goodnight to Madge and Gale then part ways and head into our separate rooms. Even after my little snooze a little while ago I'm too tired to take a shower and just climb straight into bed, only taking time to take out my braid and leave my shoes on the floor. Peeta joins me a few moments later and together we snuggle into the softness of the blankets and pillows.

"Tomorrow we go home." Peeta whispers, pressing a kiss to my nose.

"Then we can really start our life together." I reply, reaching over him to switch off the lamp, leaving us in total darkness.

"So, after the events of today and seeing Finnick and Annie's new baby, what do you think about having kids?"

"Us?"

"Yes Kat, what do you think about us having kids now?"

"I think I'd like that." I reply, too tired to really think about what I'm saying, but knowing that I want to have kids with Peeta, eventually.

"Me too Kat. I love you so much." He kisses my neck. "You have no idea how happy I am." He kisses my cheek.

"Oh just kiss me like a real man." I laugh, pulling him down to my lips, kissing him passionately.

"Good night Kat."

"Night Peeta."

And with that I fall asleep on his chest like I usually do and don't wake up until the light of morning is shining brightly through the curtains.

_**So, what did you think? Pretty short I know but I really wanted to post it and not have you wait any longer. Please review and tell me your thoughts, and hopefully I'll have the last chapter out soon. Thanks for reading **___

_**~FirePearl**_


	29. Home Sweet Home-Chapter 29

_**Hey guys! I'm updating early this time! So this is the last chapter but I really want to have an epilogue as well. I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for two weeks and really wanted to post this. It's super super short and pretty fast paced but it's the end so I guess its okay…Hope you like it and I'll be sure to write the epilogue when I get back. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.**_

_**Chapter #29**_

"**He's so tiny!" I exclaim while awkwardly holding little Finnick Jr. **

"**He really does look just like his Daddy." Madge says, stroking his baby head and golden blond hair.**

**It is quite early in the morning but the four of us really wanted to see Annie and Finnick and the baby before our hovercraft leaves at 9am to take us home. **

"**My turn." Peeta smiles, coming up beside me and holding his arms out.**

"**Fine." I say and reluctantly hand Finn over to Peeta after placing a kiss on his soft cheek. **

"**You will come visit us right?" I ask Annie who is reclining in the hospital bed looking a little better than yesterday. "I know Prim would love to meet Finn."**

"**Of course we'll come visit, won't be honey?" She smiles, and Finnick nods. "We sure will. Besides, Madge will be having her baby anytime and we want to see the new one before he or she gets too big."**

"**I should hope so!" Madge exclaims, heading over to Peeta to take the baby from him. "I wish we lived closer, then I'm sure Finn and our little one would be best friends." **

"**We'll visit and they can visit, they can still be friends." Gale assures her. "Good." She smiles, kissing the top of Finn's blond head before handing him back to Annie.**

"**And if Katniss and Peeta ever decide to have kids then all three can be friends." Finnick mentions jokingly.**

"**Hey remember that you two have been married for years and Kat and I not even one year, don't pressure us!" Peeta replies, pretending that he is offended but knowing Peeta, he's not. **

"**Wouldn't it be sweet if I had a girl and she and Finn got married?" Madge squeals delightedly. **

"**Aw it would!" Annie agrees grinning.**

"**Women." Gale shakes his head and Finnick nods in agreement. "Playing matchmakers before there kids are even born."**

"**Hate to break this up but we have a hovercraft to catch in half an hour." Peeta announces.**

"**Yeah, we left our things in the lobby, hopefully they are still there." Gale says.**

"**Okay, well all I can say is that we'll see you soon, its not good bye." Annie says, tears in her eyes.**

"**Yes, I'm expecting you to come for the first week of my baby's life." Madge tells her. "Which hopefully isn't too far away."**

**We all hug Finnick and Annie and give baby Finn and kiss then head out to the lobby where our little bit of luggage is waiting, giving us 20 minutes to run to the hovercraft station. **

**Peeta and I get there first, with five minutes to spare, seeing as Madge can hardly run and Gale stayed behind to help her. We hand the attendant our tickets and wait for our friends to catch up. They arrive just in the nick of time and after getting their tickets scanned as well we walk up the ramp to our hovercraft and find our seats for the 3 or so hour flight. **

**As soon as Peeta and I are settled I buckle my seat belt and lay my head on his shoulder, going to try and catch up on some sleep since we had to wake up kind of early this morning. **

**I feel the hovercraft take up and as soon as we are flying straight I drift off.**

…

"**Katniss, Kat wake up. We're here. We're home." I groan and open my eyes to find myself in the same position that I fell asleep in, only now the hovercraft has landed and we're in District 12. I unbuckle myself and Peeta grabs our backpack. Following the small crowd we meet up with Madge and Gale and step outside together. As soon as we're outside I just stop and breathe in the District 12 air. **_**We're really, truly home. It's not just a dream. **_

**A moment later I feel Peeta take my hand and gently tug me along. It is early afternoon and the streets are pretty quiet. We walk through the center of town, straight to the victors' village where we say goodbye to Madge and Gale who head into their own house. Then Peeta and I walk up the steps to the house where Prim and my mother are staying. **

"**You knock." He whispers, a smile forming on his lips. I smile back and lift my hand to rap my knuckles on the wooden door. I had decided before that I'd knock instead of just walking in. We wait a minute but when nobody comes to the door Peeta knocks a little harder than I did. After a few seconds I hear footsteps approaching and hold my breath, squeezing Peeta's hand tightly. Then the lock makes a clicking sound and the door swings open to reveal a very grown-up looking Prim.**

"**Katniss!" She squeals and jumps into my arms almost knocking me over.**

"**Hey little duck." I whisper, afraid that I'll end up crying. So I just hold her tightly, not wanting to let go. **

"**Prim? Who's at the door?" I hear mother call, and then before anyone can reply she comes into view and just stops, her face going pale.**

"**They said you were dead." She whispers, taking us both in.**

"**We survived." I tell her. Then she starts sobbing and throws herself into my arms and I somewhat awkwardly hug her back while Peeta hugs Prim who seems just as excited to see him as she was to see me. **

"**Come in, come in." Mother says, wiping her eyes a few moments later.**

"**I should go see my parents, I'll be back in a little bit, okay?" Peeta tells me and I nod. He gives me a quick kiss then hurries down the front steps and across the street to his family's bakery. **

**Prim grabs my hand and practically drags me inside to the living room.**

"**Tell me everything!" She says, sitting beside me on the large couch.**

**So instead of trying to get out of it, I start from the beginning and tell her our story of the past 8 months or so. She listens very intently, only interrupting a few times to ask questions. Before I know it, two hours has gone by and Mother is calling us into the kitchen for dinner.**

**Peeta walks in a few minutes later, just in time to eat with us.**

"**So how was your visit with your parents?" I ask, once we're seated.**

"**They were surprised that's for sure. My mom fainted." He chuckles a little and takes a bite of spaghetti. **

"**Is she okay?" Mom asks worriedly.**

"**Oh she's fine now, I guess she didn't expect to see me standing in the bakery."**

"**Everyone thought you 6 were dead along with everyone else. There was a funeral and ceremony and everything. Of course she didn't expect it!" My mother tells him. **

"**Wow." I say quietly. We finish our meal and Prim sweetly volunteers to do up the dishes so that Peeta and I can head back to our own house to get some rest. **

"**You'll come over tomorrow right?" Prim asks and Peeta says we will. **

"**Night little duck." I say, kissing her head, which isn't as easy as it was before. For one thing she is almost as tall as me. Looking like a young lady now. We wave goodbye and hand in hand walk over to our own house, looking so inviting now, compared to what we've been living in. We find the door key under the mat just where we left it, and after Peeta unlocks the door we walk inside a little blindly until finding a light switch and lighting up the place. **

"**Home sweet home." Peeta whispers, pulling me closer.**

"**Yeah." I reply, wrapping my arms around him.**

"**Come on." He says, taking my hand again and pulling me up the stairs the out master bedroom with the adjoining bathroom and everything. I take my hair out of its braid and change into one of Peeta's shirts before climbing into the soft sheets of our huge king size bed. Peeta joins me a moment later.**

"**It's really great to be home." I whisper.**

"**It sure is." He agrees, pulling my close.**

"**I love you."**

"**Love you too. So, what about kids?"**

_**So what did you think?! Please PM/review me your ideas and feedback, I love hearing from all of you! Don't worry I'll give you the details on Madge and Gale's baby in the epilogue. And I got this great idea to have a third book to this series and have it based on their kids, what do you think? Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews and for reading this story, I've really enjoyed it. Untill next time!**_

_**~FirePearl**_


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